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A  paper  contain 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #409 

DTTDfil37D. 


A  PAPER 


CONTAINING  A 


sta^tem:ei?^t  of  facts 


RELATING   TO   THE 


APPROACHING  COTTON  CRISIS. 


BY    aEORGE    McHENRY 


Richmond,  Dec.  31,  1864. 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

Richmond,  January  6, 1865. 
Sir:  ^ 

I  herewith  enclose  copy  of  a  resohition  adopted  by  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means  yesterday,  asking  the  favor  of  you  to  furnish,  at  such  time  and  in  such  form  as  may 
be  most  convenient  to  yourself,  the  information  sought  by  the  resolution. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

^  ^,  „  „  F.  S.  LYON,  CA'n. 

George  McHenry,  Esq. 


Resolved,  That  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  be  instructed  to  ad- 
dress a  letter  to  Mr  McHenry,  imd  requpst  him  to  furnish  such  information  and  statistics 
on  the  cotton  products  and  cotton  trade,  and  its  importance  to  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
as  may  be  m  his  possessi-ni,  and  ia  such  form  as  will  be  best  suited  to  bring  the  information 
easily  and  prominently  before  the  public. 

Office  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  House  of  Representatives,  January  5, 1865: 
Resolution,  of  wliich  the  foregoing  is  a  copy,  adopted. 

F.  S.  LYON.  CVn. 


Corner  7th  and  Grace  Sts. 

Richmond,  January  8,  1865. 
SK: 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communication  of  the  6th  instant, 
enclosing  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  requesting 
me  "  to  furnish  such  information  and  statistics  on  the  cotton  products  and  cotton  trade,  and 
it^  importance  to  tiie  commerce  of  the  world,"  as  may  be  in  my  possession. 

In  compliance  with  this  request,  I  herewith  send  you  "a  paper  containing  a  statement  of 
tacts  relating  to  the  approaching  Cotton  Crisis,"  and  shall  be  happy  to  furnish  any  addi- 
tional information  in  my  possession  that  may  be  desired. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

^,   ^   .,  GEO.  McHENRY. 

Hon.  F.  S  Lyon, 

C/i'n  Com.  Ways  and  Means,  House,  Rep's. 


THE  COTTON  CRISIS. 


A  pretty  general  belief  exists  in  the  minds  of  people  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  that  the  "  cotton  famine"  is  over,  and  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  cflobe  have,  in  a  great  measure,  by  reason  of  an  in- 
creased production  in  other  countries,  becoine  independent  of  the 
Southern  States  for  a  supply  of  that  raw  material.  This  paper  is 
intended  to  demonstrate  that  such  views  are  incorrect;  that  as  yet 
there  has  been  no  actual  "cotton  famine;"  that  that  calamity  is  still 
in  store,  unless  the  war  in  America  should  cease  before  long,  and  that 
the  production  in  "other  countries"  has  not,  to  any  great  extent, 
been  augmented.  The  writer  was  one  of  the  few  Aujericans,  who, 
at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  held  to  the  idea  that  cotton 
was  not  then  king  ;  and  he  now  finds  himself  almost  alone  in  asserting 
the  political  power  of  the  leading  article  of  commerce,  provided  the 
rulers  of  the  Confederate  States  think  proper  to  take  steps  by  which 
the  mercantile  monarch  may  be  reinstated  upon  his  throne. 

The  annexed  tables  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G  and  H,  compiled  chiefly 
from  the  Board  of  Tiade  returns,  show  the  course  of  the  British  cotton 
trad<^  ibr  the  last  six  years.  The  period  begins  at  tlie  cessntion  of  the 
commercial  panic  of  1857 — when  overproduction  commenced — and 
ends  with  the  close  of  last  year:  thus  furnishing,  at  a  glance,  the 
history  of  the  cotton  imports,  exports,  stocks,  manufactures  and  sales 
for  home  consumption  in  England.  Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  for 
the  three  seasons  anterior,  and  the  three  seasons  subsequent  to  the 
secession  of  the  Southern  States  from  the  Federal  Union  ;  and,  like- 
wise, exhibiting  the  increase  in  the  stocks  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods 
during  the  first  division,  and  the  decrease  during  the  second  division 
of  that  time.  In  analyzing  the  tables,  reference  will  be  made  to  the 
present  position  of  the  cotton  trade. 

The  largest  importations  of  raw  cotton  into  England  took  place 
in  1860,  when  1,390, 938, 752  pounds  were  ijiiported,  at  a  cost  of 
^35,756,889;  and  the  smallest  receipts  were  in  1862,  when  but 
523,973,296  pounds  were  imported,  valued  at  ^31,093,045.  The 
quantity  in  1861  was  1, 256, 9->4,736  pounds,  worth  .£3^,653,398'; 
and  in  1863  it  was  669,583,264  pounds,  worth  £56,277,953. 

The  exportations  of  raw  cotton  in  1860,  were  250,428,640  pounds, 
valued  at  ^5,388,190;  for  1861,  298,287,920  pounds,  valued  at 
.-£8,577,747  ;  for  1862,  214,714,528  pounds,  valued  at  ^  13,508,6:- 1  ; 
and  for  1863,  241,570,992  pounds,  valued  at  ^20,145,9!  1 — the  ex- 
portations in  comparison  with  the  importations  being  very  great  tlie 
two  latter  years. 

The  yarn-producing  capacity,  or  net  weight  of  the  cotton,  after 


6 

spinning,  that  remained  in  the  United  Kingdom  for  manufacturing 
-purposes,  was  in  1860,  969,4;;3,595  pounds  ;  and  in  1863,  only 
285,2-Jl,515  poands — showing  the  fact  of  the  extra  loss  in  working  the 
inferior  sorts,  jind  accounting  for  the  additional  quantity  of  cotton 
required  to  make  a  yard  of  goods  in  186  >  over  what  was  needed  for 
that  purpose  in  I860. 

Although  the  cost  of  the  imports  of  I'aw  cotton  into  Great  Britain, 
notwithstanding  the  smaller  quantity,  was  so  much  greater  in  1863 
than  in  1860,  the  value  of  the  exports,  not  much  diminished  in  quan- 
tity, was  also  augmented — making  the  net  cost  for  tiiat  material  in 

1860,  ^3(),:J6S,699,  and  in  1863,  .£36,132,037.  And  it  has  been 
estimated  that  the  profits  on  the  old  stocks  of  cotton  goods  held  over 
in  foreign  markets,  belonging  to  English  merchants,  and  disposed  of 
in  1863,  amounted  to  c£  16. 0^)0, 000 — thereby  reducing  the  exchanges 
to  about  ^^2  ),00'..',0i;0,  or  £  10,000,000  less  than  in'  I860.'  As  the 
old  stocks  are  now  about  exhausted,  that  means  of  payment  will 
cease,  and,  of  course,  a  greater  sum  of  money  will  be  required, 
in  future,  to  settle  for  the  cotton  supplies  of  Great  Britain. 

The  largest  exportations  of  cotton  piece  goods  were  in  1860,  when 
2,776,218,427  yards  weie  shipped,  along  with  197,343,655  pounds  of 
twist  and  yarn — the  value  ot  the  clearances  footing  up,  including 
hosiery  and  small  wares,  ^52,012,380.  Except  for  hosiery,  &c.,  the 
figures  for  1862  were  smaller  than  in  any  other  year.  The  total 
exports  reached  in  value  c£ 36,750,97 1 .  'f'he  quantity  that  year  com- 
prised 1,681,394,600  yards  of  cloth,  93,225,890  pounds  of  twist  and 
yarn,  and  £  1,986,205  worth  of  hosiery,  &c.  In  1863,  1,706,572,858 
yards  of  piece  goods,  and  74,642,146  pounds  of  twist  and  yarn  were 
sent  abroad,  valued,  with  hosiery  and  small  wares,  at  ^47,443,964. 
The  exportations  of  British  cotton  goods  in  the  last  eight  months  of 

1861,  and  during  the  whole  of  the  year  1862,  were,  with  trifling 
exceptions,  purely  speculative  transactions.  There  was  no  foreign 
demand  for  British  fabrics  ;  and  it  whs  to  prevent  losses  at  home 
that  shipments  were  made  abroad  and  advances  in  money  obtained 
thereon,  in  the  hope  that  a  continued  dearth  of  raw  cotton 
would  eventually  enhance  the  value  of  cotton  goods.  It  was  many 
months  before  the  quotations  for  manufactured  goods  responded  to 
the  price  of  the  raw  material,  which  had  been  forced  up  by  specula- 
tion, predicated  on  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  not  by  any  real 
demand  from  the  spinners.  In  fiict.  the  raw  material,  through  the 
influence  of  that  s[)eculation,  had  risen  so  much  in  value  at  Liver- 
pool, that  the  stocks  of  cotton  that  were  purchased  and  held  at  many 
of  the  continental  ports  for  the  piu'pose  of  manufacture,  were  at- 
tracted to  England.  The  advances  made  on  shipments  of  merchan- 
dise to  foreign  countries  and  the  Possessions  of  Great  Britain  are  fa- 
cilities afibrdtd  by  one  class  of  British  merchants  to  another  class. 

There  has  been  a  very  slight  reduction  in  the  British  home  consump- 
tion of  cotton  manufactures.  The  prices  of  cotton  goods  have  not 
risen  in  the  same  ratio  with  the  advance  in  raw  cotton,  from 'the 
fact  of  the  raw  Uiaterial  not  amounting,  in  ordinary  times,  to  more  than 
30  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  manufactured  article,  at  manuflicturers' 


prices.  But  now  that  cotton  forms  the  principal  cost  of  the  fabric — 
about  65  per  cent. — the  prices  of  goods  will  advance  proportion- 
ately higher,  as  the  markets  for  the  staple  ascend.  The  decrease 
in  consuiijption  has  indeed  been  so  small,  that  it  does  nt^r  aii;ount  to 
any  thing  of  moment:  it  is  doubtful  whether,  even  if  more  than  the 
natural  yearly  increase  in  the  consumption  has  been  ch(  <-k((i.  The 
rich  purchase  nearly  as  freely  as  ever ;  the  poor  never, -.vm  in  the 
most  prosperous  times,  bought  more  than  sufficient  for  t\\  ir  own 
wants,  and  their  wants  were  always  moderate.  This  is  c early  de- 
monstrated by  the  quantity  of  cotton  goods  imported  into  Kiig;and 
from  other  countries.  The  receipts  from  abroad  in  ]6ii'i  \\^•\*•  about 
the  same  as  in  1860.  The  value,  however,  was  auiimtiiKd  from 
,£758,030  in  1860,  to  ,£1,034,904  in  1863.  \Yhile  Bririsu  cotton 
goods  contained,  as  just  stated,  on  the  average,  at  normal  prict-s, 
about  30  per  cent,  of  value. in  raw  cotton,  Continental  and  Eastern 
cotton  goods  possessed  less  value  in  raw  mateiial — their  cost  princi- 
pally, or  to  a  much  greater  degree,  originating  from  the  additional 
labor  and  the  design — none  but  the  fancy  and  the  hnest  descripfion 
of  cotton  goods  are  imported  into  the  British  Isles. 

In  1S60,  £1,001)  sterling's  w^orth  of  British  cotton  go -ds,  at  manu- 
facturers' prices,  contained  raw^ cotton  to  a  value  of  £."]00.  In  1863, 
the  same  weight  and  kind  of  goods  contained  raw  cotton,  allowing 
for  the  extra  loss  in  spinning  inferior  cotton,  to  the  vahn-  of  £  1,:.^()0 
sterling:  thus  causing  an  increase  in  cost  of  £900 — luukiog  what 
stood  £1,000  in  1S60,  come  up  to  £1,000  in  1863.  Yet,  while  ihe 
**  middle  men"  and  the  retailers  have  been  contented  with  a  less  per 
centage  of  profit  than  formerly,  the  manufacturers  received  more 
than  two  prices.  And  those  manufacturers  complain,  unjustly,  that 
they  do  not  receive  a  proper  equivalent  tor  their  goods.  Their  plau- 
sible complaints  have  been  listened  to  by  the  masses,  for  it  is  known, 
that  while  cotton  was  selling  at  four  prices,  th(;  actual  consumer  was 
only  paying  about  double  the  old  rates  for  intierior  goods.  The  com- 
munity, generally,  supposed  the  nianufacturers  to  have  been  ^leat  >uf- 
ferers  by  the  so-called  "  cotton  famine."  They  have,  on  the  contrary, 
been  great  gainers  by  the  partial  stoppage  of  su)>plies.  In  ad«lition 
to  their  usual  emolument,  they  have  had,  and  are  now  having  the  ad- 
vantage oi"  gradually  rising  markets  for  their  goods.  The  coi.ton 
spinners  and  cotton  manufacturers  have  been  prerty  much  in  the 
condition  of  the  proprietors  of  flour  mills  after  a  bad  harvest ;  lor 
those  millers  then  obtain  constantly  advancing  prices  for  their  flour: 
every  bushel  of  wheat  which  tht?y  purchase  yields  more  profit  than 
when  the  crops  have  been  large,  because  the  quotations  of  grain 
aflect  those  for  flour,  and  the  time  consumed  in  the  manufacture 
affords  an  opportunity  for  an  advance  in  the  markets.  In  fact,  the 
cotton  manufacturer  has  an  advantage  over  the  flour  mill  ovvnef,  tor 
the  reason  that  it  takes  longer  to  convert  raw  cotton  into  elotli  tii,:n 
wheat  into  flour. 

The  sterling  figures  given  for  the  exportation  of  cotton  man  .  - 
tures,  are  the  declared  value  at  the  custom  house.  Those  vahn  s  e 
no  doubt  incorrect — the  goods,  probably,  are  under-invoiced  at    . .    t 


8 

33^  per  cent.,  in  order  to  evade  a  portion  of  the  duties  levied  upon 
rhcir  importation  at  the  ports  to  which  they  were  destined.  Nearly 
all,  it  not  all  of  the  importing  countries  place  ad  valorem  duties  upon 
cotton  goods.  A  near  approximation  to  the  value  of  the  British 
exports  of  cotton  manufactures  will,  therefore,  be  arrived  at  by  ad- 
ding 50  per  cent,  to  the  given  figures.  It  must,  too,  be  borne  in 
mind  that  there  are  many  articles  of  British  wool,  flax  and  silk  manu- 
facture, that  contain  a  mixture  of  cotton,  which  are  not  included  in 
ti.is  statement.  So,  the  cotton  trade  of  England  is  more  extended 
than  appearances  would  indicate. 

The  stocks  of  cotton  and  yarns  and  goods  in  the  hands  of  all 
classes  in  the  United  Kingdom,  when  reduced  to  the  weight  of  raw 
cotton — its  yarn-producing  capacity — were  as  follows  : 


DATE. 

Raw  Cotton  in 
Wareliousp. 

Raw  Cotton  in 
Spinners'  Hands. 

Yarns  and  Ooods 

on  Hand 

TOTAL. 

Jan.  1,1858,     - 
Jan.  1,1859,     - 
Jan.  1,1860,     - 
Jan.  1,1861,     - 
Jan.  1,1862,     - 
Jan.  1, 1863,     - 
Jan.  1,1864,     - 

155,007,301   lbs. 

96,865,677     " 

168.014,154     " 

206,486,4.50     " 
218,755,837     " 
107,041.247     " 

74,186,871     " 

85;900,000  lbs. 
95,000,000     " 
105,000,000     " 
135,000,000     " 
80,000,000     " 
35,000,000     " 
15.000,000     '• 

400,000,000  lbs. 
415,000,000     " 
465,000,000     " 
510,000,000     "■ 
460,000,000     " 
270,000,000     " 
l(tO.OOO,000     " 

640,907,301   lbs. 

600,865,677     " 
738,014,154     " 
851,486,450    " 
758,755,837     " 
412,041,871     " 
189,186,871     " 

When  the  trade  \s  in  its  usual  state  of  vigor,  the  stocks  of  raw 
cotton  in  the  warehouses  and  in  spinners'  hands,  are  not  at  their 
highest  point  on  'New  Year's  day.  The  largest  stocks  of  raw  cotton 
in  warehouse  were  at  the  following  dates : 


1844, 

1845, 
1846, 
1847, 
1848, 
1849, 
1850, 
1851, 
1852, 
1853, 
18.54, 
1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
18.58, 
1859, 
1860, 


July  12, 
Aiigust  1, 
January  16, 


April 
June 
July 
April 
July 

July 

July 
July 
April 


20, 
30, 
6, 
12, 
18, 
23, 
15, 
21, 
20, 


August  1 5, 

May  21), 

June  1  ] , 

June  24, 

April  24, 


998,405  bales. 

1,057,375  " 

894,838  " 

539,719  " 

657,750  " 

752,480  " 

571,166  " 

735.497  " 

694,794  " 

879,650  " 

970,107  " 

666,688  " 

813,266  " 

693,509  " 

678,636  " 

754,109  " 

1,015,868  " 


The  particulars  of  the  largest  stocks  in  warehouse  at  the  ports 
since  1860  are  not  at  hand.  The  bales,  subsequent  to  1861,  have 
been  so  irregular  in  w^eight,  and  the  cotton  itself  so  varied  in  quality, 
that  the  quantity,  when  stated  by  bales,  would  not  indicate  the  true 
condition  of  the  trade.  The  greater  part  of  the  American  crops  ar- 
rive in  Europe  between  December  and  May.  . 

The  ^expense  for  cotton  clothing  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was  as  follows : 


In  1 858,  -  -  .  .  £  03  000  000 
J"  JS'^X'  -  -  -  -  S.iSm>.m) 
J°  ^??'   -        -        -        -    25,U0u,O'!0 

i^j^co'  ■  ■  "  ■  '■^^0On,{HiO 
T  Jo^>   ■      '      ■      -   :^3.0(H),on() 

j^  ^2i  ■  "  ■  -  48,000,000 
^^  ^^'^*'       '  -  '  -          60,000,000 

These  amounts  are  at  manufacturers'  prices.    From  the  fact  of  there 
having  been  something  over  three  years'  supply  on   hond   when  the 
American  conflict  began,  the  British  people,  as  a  couimunity,  have 
not  felt  the  pressure  of  the  increased  cost  for  their  cotton  fabrics  to 
any  great  extent.     But  now  that  the  cottons  purchased  at  low  cost 
have  all  been  consumed,  and  four  or  five  prices  have  to  be  paid  for 
every  pound  required,  the  drain  upon  the  resources  of  the  English 
people  for  that  description  of  clothing  will   be  very  serious,  and 
greatly  derange   their   financial   concerns.     It   makes   no   ditfe'rence 
what  they  pay  for  their  raw  cotton  which  is  re-exported  in  the  raw 
or  in  the  manufactured  state.     It  is  only  through  the  enhanced  cost 
oi:  the  quantity  consumed  at  home  that  they  witl  sufter  greatly;  for, 
on  all  that  which  is  re-exported,  no  matter  in  what  condition,  there 
IS  a  corresponding  advance  in  price.     The  cost  for  the  raw  cotton 
contained  in  the  home-consumed  cotton  goods  in  1860,  was  about 
^'7,500,000.     In  186-5,  it  will  be,  at  the  lowest  calculation,  .£42,- 
500,000,  or  a  difference  of  £  3o,000,()00.     That  large  sum  is  not  seen 
m  the  government  returns,  because  no  account  of  what  is  consumed 
by  the  people  is  ever  taken  ;  but  it  must  necessarily  soon  begin  to  be 
felt,  if  it  has  not  already  done  so,  in  the  money  market.     That  in- 
crease m  the  cost  for  raw  cotton  in  1865,  over  the  figures  of  I860, 
will  be  equal  to  four  times  the  amount  of  the  income  tax,  to  one- 
thwd  more  than  the  interest  on  the  national  debt,  and  fully  one-half 
of  the  yearly  outlay  of  the  British  government.     Unlike  the  annual 
expenditure  of  the  British   nation,  however,  the  whole  of  the  suui. 
will  be  sent  to  other  places,  thereby  causing  a  real  drain  upou  the. 
country  to  an  amount  double  the  cost  of  all'the  food  imported      An 
increase  in  the  cost  of  breadstuffs,  after  a  bad  harvest,  of  only  a  few 
million  of  pounds  steriing,  creates  a  disturbance  in  the  money  market 
What  a  revulsion  must  then  take  place  when  not  only  the  £  35,000  000 
additional  expense  is  incurred  for  the  cost  of  home  consumed  cottoi> 
but  when  an  extra  capital  will   be  requisite  for  conducting  the  com- 
merce in  cotton  with  other  nations.     Nor  will  this  anticipated  panic 
in  the  money  market  lower  the  prices  of  cottons.     No  doubt  the 
state  of  the  finances  very  materially  aflects  the  value  of  cotton,  wlie^^ 
there  are  large  stocks  on  hand;  but  with  light  stocks,  the  rate  of  dis- 
count will  produce  but  little  change  in  the  quotations,  althou<rh  in- 
terest IS  an  important  feature  in  the  cotton  trade,  from  the  fact  of 
the  raw  material  being  longer  in  its  transit  from  the  planter  to  the 
consumer  than  any  other  article  of  commerce. 

In  the  case  of  a  bad  harvest,  which  always  creates  high  rates  for 
money,  the  value  of  wheat  is  not  affected  by  an  increase  in  interest 
because  wheat  is  then  wanted,  and  the  supply  and  demand  regulate 
the  price :  there  are  no  old  stocks  to  draw  upon.     So  it  is  just  now 
2 


10 

/ 
with  cotton,  and  there  is  no  danger  of  a  tightness  in  money  causing 
a  depreciation  in  its  value.  Breadstuff's,  to  be  sure,  go  immediately 
into  consumption,  and  the  loss  of  interest  upon  them  is  very  trifling, 
while  it  takes  months  for  cotton  to  reach  the  actual  consumer.  But 
the  prospective  condition  of  the  cotton  market  is  such  that  the  item 
of  interest  need  not  be  considered  in  determining  its  price.  This  is  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  there  has  been  any  thing 
like  an  approach  to  a  "  raiment  famine  ;"  and  few  persons,  therefore, 
seem  to  comprehciiid  the  difficulty.  The  hiatus  caused  by  the  partial 
loss  of  three  cotton  crops,  1S62,  1863  and  1864,  in  the  Southern 
States  of  America,  must  be  felt.  The  quantity  cultivated  in  those 
states  since  the  second  year  of  the  war  has  not  more  than  compen- 
sated for  that  which  has  been  destroyed  in  order  to  prevent  its  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  to  say  nothing  of  the  wastage,  and  what 
has  been  consumed  within  the  limits  of  the  Confederacy.  If  the  ap- 
plication of  the  torch  has  been  suspended,  the  consumption  and  wast- 
age still  go  on.  There  was  two  years'  supply  of  cotton  and  cotton 
goods  in  every  shape  at  the  consuming  points  in  1858;  in  1860-61, 
enough  for  three  years  in  all  parts  of  the  world — the  increased  pro- 
duction of  southern  cotton  in  1858,  1859  and  1860,  having  given 
an  additional  year's  requirements.  The  quantity  of  cotton  in  the 
whole  world,  with  cotton  goods,  is  less  by  8,500,000  bales  than  it 
was  four  years  ago.  High  prices  have  reduced  the  stocks  of  cotton 
and  cotton  goods,  but  they  have  not  stimulated  production  to  any 
great  degree  in  other  countries,  because  the  labor  could  not  be  much 
diverted  from  the  accustomed  pursuits  of  their  inhabitants.  Only  a 
few  months'  extra  consumption  has  been  cultivated,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  extravagant  quotations.  A  careful  calculation,  made  a 
short  time  since,  shows  that  the  increase  in  the  quantity  of  cotton 
:grown  in  all  countries  otlier  than  the  SoutuL'rn  States,  in  1864  over 
1860,  was  only  equal  to  350,000  bales  of  American  in  weight.  The 
augmented  receipts  from  those  other  countries  was  owing  chiefly  to 
the  drain  upon  old  stocks.  The  Southern  States  have,  since  the 
establishment  of  the  blockade,  contributed  to  the  "  outer  workl" 
about  900,000  bales  of  cotton — part  of  which  has  been  exported 
through  the  blockade,  and  part  stolen  by  the  Yankees.  So,  with  the 
stocks  on  hand,  the  supplies  from  other  quarters,  and  the  cotton 
that  has  escaped  from  the  Confederacy,  the  "famine"  has,  up  to 
the  present  time,  been  tided  over. 

Formerly,  the  number  of  b(ilci>  of  American  cotton  manufactured 
in  Great  Britain  amounted  to  85  per  cent,  of  the  entire  quantity, 
counting  by  bales,  taken  by  the  mills.  But  the  American  bales 
were  heavier  than  those  of  other  countries,  and  the  cotton  produced 
more  yarn  to  the  pound  than  that  grow^n  elsewhere.  British  fabrics 
then,  it  will  be  found,  have  hitherto  actually  contained  90  per  cent. 
of  American  cotton.  The  case  is  now  reversed  ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  cotton  goods  manufactured  last  year,  and  being  made  this  year, 
do  not  contain  more  than  20  per  cent,  of  Anierican  cotton.  In  order 
to  work  the  inferior  sorts,  and  to  augment  the  weight  of  the  fabrics, 
a  large  admixture  of  mineral  and  other  substances  was,  and  is  being 


11 

used.  This  is  considered  a  fraud,  as  most  of  the  sales  are  negotiated 
with  the  understanding  that  the  goods  contain  the  usual  proportion 
of  American  cotton.  No  description  of  merchandise,  as  before  n- 
marked,  is  so  long  reaching  the  consumer  from  the  producer  as  cotton 
goods;  and  the  complaints  in  reference  to  the  inferiority  of  the  tiw- 
ture  of  the  articles  have  been  slow  in  comimr  to  hand.  *^  Now,  how- 
ever, that  the  deception  is  being  discovered.  British  cotton  fihrics  are 
losing  their  reputation.  Shoddy  cotton  cloth  will  not  answer  the 
wants  of  the  world.  East  I;:dia  and  other  inferior  cottons,  unh'ss  in 
very  small  prop')rtions,  are  unfit  for  machine  made  goods.  They 
may  look  nearly  as  well  when  overlondod  with  "size,"  but  thev  cer- 
tainly will  not  wear  so  long.  The  following  extract  from  the  Frirnd 
of  India  of  June  9,  1SG4:,  a  newspaper  pubiishfd  at  Calcutta,  will  no 
doubt  be  perused  with  interest,  as  it  shows  the  condition  in  which 
British  cotton  goods  arrive  at  the  places  (.f  consumption.  Even  th.j 
ladies  of  England  are  now  complaining  tiiat  their  stockinjrs  and 
other  cotton  garments  "  last  no  time  at  all :" 

Mir.DEW    I\    (I.OTH. 
(Extract  froi-*  tbe  Frieurt  of  la  U^  Juq-  0.  1864.) 

Ever  since  Manohesier  l.eca    e  lUpoiilei.t  upon  Indin  for  hor  umkiiig  material,  her  mauu- 
f«ctnre.s  luive,  to  the  ^urpristt  of  n..  *jw,  fvUm  off  very  uiHleiialiv  in  quality.     If  th.-re  has 
be.u  any  surprifcie  in  the  matter,  it  is  that  even  Manchester  ingenuity  shouUniave  sueceetlci 
m  tnnnncr  ,,ut  cloth,  rom-.o.cd  rntli-oly  of  Indian  cotton.  t<.  hear  ro  fkvorah'e  a  co-rpariMMi 
wii  h  the  old  makes  as  the  production  of  tlie  last  two  years  Undoubtedly  presents.     Any  oue 
may  recollect  how  it  was  at  first  as.sert(  d  tliat  no  cloth  of  even  decent  ai)ne;.ranc8  could  U' 
ni-umi,ietured  ot  Sarat  cotton,  aud  l.ow.  hy  frreat  lal.o;.  a::d  tliou^l.t,  and  expense,  the  ma- 
chinery ot  Lanca.sline  has  been  so  modified  and  re.-onstructed  that  not».nly  the  best  Su'ats 
but  even  common  Bengal,  has  lie>-n  bicu^ht  into  g^ood  use.     And  when  thJ-  i\v%t  instalments 
o,  th--   new  cotto/   cloth  were  received  here,   importers  were   very  ajrieeably  astonished  to 
tiiiu  that  It  should  be  of  so  v^-ry  saleable  a  d^-scription  ;  and  the  native  dealers  exhibit,  d   in 
n.a<y  instances,  a  pref.-r-^nce  to  the  new  cloth  over  the  old.     This  opinion  is  now  reversed 
Ihe  new  cloth  is  tak<^n  because  there  is  no  other  to  he  had.  but  it  is  tak.-n  with  <rr<at  sus- 
picion.^   It  is  all  intrinsically  rotten.     Aii  of  it  contain    the  seed  of  unsoundness.'vvhich   if 
left  to  Itself,  {rerminate.s  in  due"  time  int..  rottenness.     With  the  best  inrurmation  i)i  our  i)os- 
session,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  that  one-third  of  that  class  of  imports  known  as 
_  pray  po..ds    is  hinde.l  h-re  more  or  loss  damao.,.d  by  mildew.     The  v.tv  samphs  received 
lutm  cases   by  tluMjuiek  rottte  overland  are  black  witli  nrildew.     The'ffoods  arrive  here 
sometimes  partially  rotten,  so  thut  wlien  th^  bales  are  opwi  -d  patches  ot  th-  doth  attach  to 
the  packing  paper,  and  crumble   to  dust  when  handled.     Some  bales  are  furred  alon^r  tj.e 
edges  of  the  cloth  hke  very  juouldy  chee.se;  some  are  covered  with  snwit  black  spots  which 
have  wormed  themselves  into  the  very  h.artof  the  bale;  whih- others  open  out  in  apparently 
good  conuitiou— sutiicient  evidence,  however,  ol  the  latent  unsoundness  being  afforded  by 
the  mould vsmeli  and  the  hot  damp  feel  of  the  cloth.     Of  the   number  of  dama<rf.d    bales 
refold  by  the  importers,  and  otherwis;-  privately  arrange.l   for,  we  can  scarcely  ^^^nture  to 
offer  an  estunate.     But  so  notorious  has  the  evil  become  that  in  some  quarters  it  has  been 
found  advisable  to  accept  as  an  established  conclusion  that  all  gray  goods  are  more  or  less 
damaged,  and  to  regelate  transactions  upon  that  basis,  the  importer  surrenderino-  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  market  value  of  sound  g^^od.s,  an.l  (he  native  d-^aler  acceptiuf-  tT^e  risks  of 
damage  to  the  goods,  however  serious  the  damage  may  prove. 

^  There  is  now  a  very  decided  opinion  here,  and  we  understand  the  same  view  is  entertained 
m  other  places,  as  to  the  cause  of  this  mildew  damage.  When  it  was  first  discovered  and 
the  cases  ot  damage  were  less  frequent  and  less  seiious.  it  was  attributed  to  external  influ- 
ences during  transit,  or  to  long  storage  of  the  goods  in  damp  godowns  in  India.  As  in- 
stances  multiplied,  however,  it  came  tube  a  general  opinion  that  the  mildew  was  contracted 
in  too  packers  warehouses  at  home;  and  many  attempts  were  mad-  to  claim  upon  the 
packers  for  the  losses  sustained  in  foreign  markets,  all  whieh  attempts  pr^.ved  inetFectual 
It  now  appears  to  be  an  ascertained  fact  that  the  damage  arises  from  the  injurious  nature  of 
tho^mgredients  us.-d  in  preparing  the  "size' —that  is,  the  liquid  composition  employed  to 
stiff  n  the  warps  before  weaving.  It  is  noticed,  too.  that  in  the  cloths  now  arriving  here  is 
au  untisual  quantity  of  this  'sizing,"  and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  this  extra  quantity 
IS  used  lor  tne  purpose  of  obtaining  au  increase  of  weight,  cloth  being  sold  by  weight.     In 


12 

OTif'  of  those  home  cotton  circulars  whose  usefulness  we  have  previously  had  occasion  to 
acknowledge,  the  cloth  now  being  manufactured  is  described,  as  "compounded  in  a  great 
iiK-.isure  of  paste  and  refuse,"  and  the  same  circular  goes  to  say  that  "consumers  every 
where  are  getting  disgusted  at  the  inferior  quality  of  the  fabrics  made  out  of  short-stapled 
cotton."  But  although  it  is  acknowledged  that  the  damage  originates  with  the  manufac- 
turer, it  h^^  not  y(>t  i>een  found  practieablH  to  substantiate  a  claim  against  him  for  compen- 
sation to  the  buyer.  Indian  merchants  pay  dearer  than  ever  for  the  goods  they  import  into 
this  couiitry,  and  although  these  goods  prove  unsaleable,  or  saleable  only  at  a  heavy  sacri- 
fice, the  loss  is  all  borne  here 

Many  of  the  Lancashire  mills  had  their  machinery  altered  to  suit 
the  spinning  of  Indian  cotton.  It  is  discovered,  however,  that  that 
very  alteration  is  likewise  beneficial  to  the  spinning  of  American 
cotton.  The  great  difficulty  to  which  the  mill  owners  will  be  sub- 
jected, after  the  trade  resumes  its  former  extent,  will  be  the  absence 
of  the  requisite  number  of  operatives.  Many  of  the  operatives  have 
lost  their  skill  by  being  engaged  in  other  employments.  Paving 
streets  and  breaking  stone  physically  incapacitates  them  for  manu- 
facturing cotton.  Others  have  emigrated,  and  the  ranks  of  the  ope- 
ratives, which  have  been  further  thinned  by  disease  and  death,  have 
not  been  recruited  by  the  usual  fresh  accessions  in  the  last  four  years. 

Cotton  is  grown  in  about  sixty  different  countries ;  but  the  Con- 
federate States  present  the  only  instance  where  it  is  cultivated  as  a 
leading  crop.  The  follov/ing  were  the  imports  into  Great  Britain 
in  186;3 : 


Kussia — Orov,'th  of  Khiva  and  Bokhara, 

632  cwts. 

Portugal, 

6.105      " 

Spain — Ports  without  the  Mediterranean, 

91      " 

Ports  within  the  Mediterranean, 

1.140      " 

Canary  Islands, 

3      " 

Italy — Geiioji, 

284      " 

Nxples, 

2,396      " 

Sicily, 

1,875      " 

V'.'uetia, 

228      " 

Iliyria,  Croatia  and  Dalmutia, 

576      " 

Malta,      '                   -                    -                 ' 

3,400      " 

Greece, 

3,080      " 

European  Turkey, 

12,180      " 

Natulia  or  Asia  Minor, 

96,696      " 

Syria  and  Palestine, 

1,418      " 

Egypt, 

835,289      " 

Africa — British  Possessions  on  river  Gambi 

a, 

131      " 

Sierra  Leone, 

_ 

24      " 

British  Possessions  on  the  Gold  coast, 

95      " 

Vv'est  coast  of  Africa, 

- 

659      " 

Cape  <if  Go  d  Hope, 

33,845      " 

NhuI, 

237      " 

Mauritius, 

1,609      *' 

British  India— Bombay, 

3,004,196      " 

Madras, 

441,582      " 

Bengal, 

397,864      " 

Singapore, 

1 ,952      " 

Ceylon, 

33,163      " 

French  Possessions  in  India, 

515      " 

Phillippine  Islands, 

155      " 

Siam, 

1      " 

China  (exclusive  of  Hong  Kong), 

145,134      " 

Hong  Kong, 

130,369      " 

Japan, 

6,352      " 

Australia— Victoria, 

13      " 

New  South  Wales,     - 

121      " 

Queensland, 

122      " 

British  West  India  Islands— Jaraaiciv, 

1,826      " 

13 


Brought  forward, 
British  West  India  Islands — St.  Christopher, 
Antigua, 


(South  American  growth) 


St.  Lucia, 

St.  Vincent, 

Barbadoes, 

Grenada, 

Tobago, 

Trinidad, 


British  Guiana — Demarara, 
Berbice, 

Belize, 

Dutch  Guiana, 

Foreign  West  Indies — Porto  Rico, 
Curacoa, 
St.  Thomas, 

Hayti  and  the  Dominican  Republic, 

Central  America — Ports  on  the  Atlantic, 
Ports  on  the  Pacific, 

New  Grenada — Ports  on  the  Atlantic, 

Venezuela, 

Eciiador, 

Peru, 

Brazil, 

Uruguay, 

Argentine  Confederation, 


5,165,158  cwts. 

20  " 

65  " 

li  " 

636  " 

16.556  " 

1,154  " 

30  " 

162  " 

2,368  " 

1  " 

3,899  " 

807  " 

2,553  " 

170  " 

1,338  " 

5,931  " 

JO  « 

335  " 

22,683  " 

742  " 

278  " 

160  " 

201,814  " 

22  " 

33  " 


Confederate  cotton  re 

■ceived  through  the 

following 

countries : 

Norway, 

. 

70 

Sweden, 

- 

252 

Holland, 

- 

1,047 

Denmark, 

. 

165 

Prus.sia, 

. 

23 

Hamburgh, 

. 

2,941 

Bremen, 

- 

617 

FrancH, 

- 

15,033 

Beigium, 

. 

2,183 

Channel  Islands, 

. 

1 

Canada. 

. 

153 

New  Brunswick, 

_ 

19 

Nova  Scotia  and  Cape 

Breton, 

- 

1,828 

Bernmda, 

- 

- 

63,807 

Bahamas, 

- 

- 

202,009 

Mexico, 

- 

- 

172.126 

Cuba, 

. 

. 

31,9-20 

United  States, 

- 

. 

47.117 

Confederate  States, 

direct, 

- 

9,973 

Total  imports. 


5,427,138  cwts. 


551,284  cwts. 
5,978,422  cwts. 


It  will  be  observed  that  most  of  the  producing  countries  furnish 
but  little  cotton,  and  there  is  no  likelihood  whatever  of  their  being 
able  to  increase  their  yield.  They  have  not  the  labor  to  do  so.  The 
high  prices  at  Liverpool,  it  will  be  seen  by  tlie  above  statement,  have 
attracted  to-  the  United  Kingdom  a  portion  of  the  old  stocks  of 
American  cotton  that  were  at  the  continental  ports. 

India  has  never  produced  in  any  one  year  as  much  as  2,000,000 
bales ;  which,  considering  her  enormous  population,  is  a  very  small 
quantity.  Her  people  in  fact  have  difficultv  in  raising  enough  food 
for  their  own  wants.  For  the  si.\  years  ending  December  31,  1863, 
India  took  as  much  cotton  in  the  shape  of  yarns  and  goods  as  she 
exported  to  all  countries  of  that  material  in  its  raw  state.     She 


14 

usually  takes  more  cotton  in  goods  from,  than  she  sends  of  raw  cot- 
ton to  England.  It  has  been  only  by  exporting  her  old  stocks  of 
cotton  that  she  has  been  enabled  to  balance  her  imports  with  her  ex- 
ports within  the  period  named.  India,  too,  does  not  buy  her  own 
cottons  back  again  in  the  manufjictured  condition,  but  requires  to  be 
furnished  with  cotton  fabrics  made  from  good  American  cottons.  A 
large  portion  of  the  imports  of  India  cotton  is  re-exported  from 
England  to  the  Continent  of  Europe.  There  is  no  change  of  fashion 
in  India,  and  her  people,  therefore,  want  cotton  goods  that  will  wear 
for  a  regular  length  of  time.  The  subjoined  statement  of  the  com- 
merce of  India  in  cotton,  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods,  outward 
and  inward,  confirms  the  assertion  just  made: 

Receipts  of  Raw  Cotton  from  India,  and  Yarns  and  Goods  exported  thereto 
from  the  United  Kingdom,  ivith  estimates  of  the  Indian  Commerce  in  Cotton 
and  CoUon  Goods  with  other  countries. 


1S58, 
1859, 
1^60, 
]8(V1, 
1862, 
1863, 


Gross  pounds  of 
raw.  cotton. 


]  32  722  576 
192  330  880 
204  14  i  168 
.,69  040  448 
392  654  528 
'434  420  784 


1725  310  384 


Adil  net  weight  of  raw  cotton  shipped  from  India  to 
China  and  (tthcr  countries,  as  well  as  weight  of  piece 
goods  exported  from  India,  from  1858  to  I'^Q'^, 

Yarns  and  goods  shipped  from  other  countries  to  India, 
about  .  .  .  - 


Lbs. 


Yarn-producing 
properties. 


96  887  481 
138  478  234 
146  981  641 

269  709123 

270  931  625 
284  729  175 


1207  717  279 


130  000  000 


1337  717  279 


Weight  of  gooda 
and  yarns  ex- 
ported to  India. 


223  000  000 
305  000  000 
242  OiA)  000 
225OU0  000: 
145  OUO  000 
155  000  000 


]  295  000  000 


42  717  279 


1  337  717  279 


The  above  figures  make  no  allowance  for  the  stock  of  raw  cotton 
that  wnson  hand  in  India  on  January  1,  1858.  As  already  observed, 
she  could  not  have  contributed  the  increased  quantity  to  Enghmd,  if 
it  had  not  been  for  those  old  stocks. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  India  has  not  for  a  number  of  years  past  grown 
more  than  enough  for  her  own  supply.  She  has  only  been  enabled 
to  make  exportations  of  cotton,  from  the  fact  of  receiving  such  large 
quantities  of  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods  from  Great  Britain; 
which  yarns  and  goods  were  made,  as  before  remarked,  from  better 
cotton  than  she  parted  with.  The  loss  in  spinning  Surat  cotton  is 
set  down  at  27  per  cent,  for  1858 ;  28  per  cent,  for  1859,  1860  and 
1861  ;  31  per  cent,  for  1862  ;  and  33 J  per  cent,  for  1863.  No  Surat 
cotton  can  be  worked  without  a  loss  of  25  percent. ;  and  every  year 
there  has  been  a  considerable  quantity  imported  entirely  worthless 
for  manufacturing  purposes,  which  increases  the  average  loss  to 
above  that  rate.  This  was  the  case  to  a  much  greater  degree  in  1 862 
and  1863  than  in  previous  years,  in  consequen-e  of  the  "sweepings" 
of  the  old  stocks  from  the  interior,  as  well  as  cotton  that  had  been 


15 

used  for  stuffing  furniture  and  household  purposes,  having  constituted 
a  poition  of  the  importations  into  England.  The  average  loss  in  the 
weight  of  India  cotton,  when  converted  into  yarn,  for  the  last  six 
years,  was  just  30  per  cent.  The  immense  increase  in  the  exports  of 
yarns  and  goods  to  India  in  18-59  over  1858,  was  owing  to  the  demand 
for  British  manufactures,  which  arose  after  the  mutiny  was  suppre^sed. 
The  heavy  supplies  of  machine  made  goods  thus  attracted  thither 
displaced  the  old  fashioned  hand  made  fabrics,  and  enabled  the  Hin- 
doos to  release  a  greater  portion  of  their  raw  cotton  than  usual,  which 
accounts  for  the  large  receipts  from  thence  in  1861.  These  large 
quantities  were  set  in  motion  before  the  war  was  thought  of:  and 
the  high  prices  that  have  since  prevailed  have  resulted  in  drain- 
ing the  interior,  the  cultivation  not  having  been  much  augmented. 
Although  during  the  first  part  of  the  present  year  (1864)  the  impor- 
tations from  India  were  in  excess  of  those  at  the  same  period  in  1 863, 
it  is  not  believed  that  the  receipts  for  the  whole  twelve  months  will 
show  any  increase  over  last  year.  The  shipments  of  cotton  from 
India  have,  for  the  last  four  or  five  months,  been  losing  money — as 
much  as  lOd.  sterling  per  lb. — and  many  firms,  who  ha3  made  large 
fortunes  by  the  rise  in  pricts,  have  not  only  lost  all  their  capital  and 
earnings,  but  have  become  bankrupt. 

The  delusion  in  reference  to  the  yield  of  cotton  in  India — which 
is  now  being  dispelled — arose  from  the  fact  of  her  "  fine"  cottons 
having  been  celebrated  from  her  earliest  history ;  also,  from  the  fact 
of  her  having  at  one  tinie  supplied  the  whole  world  with  cotton 
goods.  But  then,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  her  production  of 
fine  cottons  was  very  limited,  and  confined  altogether  to  a  small  dis- 
trict of  country,  while  her  growth  of  coarser  cottons,  although 
larger,  was  insignificant,  in  comparison  with  our  present  ideas  of  cot- 
ton crops.  At  the  period  when  India  supplied  the  world  with  cot- 
ton goods,  the  quantity  worn  of  that  description  of  goods  was  very 
trifling — wool  and  flax  then  constituting  the  chief  materials  for 
cloihmu.  AFexico  holds,  in  respect  to  cotton,  alnjost  an  identical 
position  witli  India  ;  for,  as  far  back  as  her  history  is  known,  she  has 
been  a  cotton  producing  and  a  cotton  manufacturing  country.  Her 
cotton  fabrics,  as  recorded  by  her  discoverers,  rivaled  in  quality  the 
long  famed  goods  of  India.  Indeed,  so  valuable  were  they,  that  small 
pie(*<'s  of  exquisitely  fine  cotton  cloth  were  used  by  the  Mexicans  for 
cuiiency.  Yet  no  one  has  ever  attempted  to  claim  for  Mexico  the 
po>iTion  of  a  large  grower  of  cotton  ! 

.  O.iina  has  not  for  the  last  half  century  grown  enough  cotton  for 
bei-  own  wants.  Up  to  1861  she  had,  for  a  number  of  years,  import- 
ed about  200,000  bales  of  cotton  from  India.  She  also  imports  cot- 
ton h'om  Burmah,  overland  by  pony  caravans:  And,  likewise,  draws 
large  supplies  of  cotton  goods  and  cotton  yarns  from  England, 
and  cotton  goods  from  the  American  States.  Yet  China  has  not 
onl  V,  for  the  time  being,  ceased  to  be  an  importer  from  India,  but  has 
actually  become  an  exporter  of  cotton  to  England.  This  change  in 
the  course  of  trade  has  been  accomplished  in  consequence  of  the  high 
prices  having  induced  the  Chinese  to  part  with  their  usual  stocks; 


16 

and  India  has  thus  been  enabled  to  send  to  England  what  she  for- 
merly furnished  to  China.  China  and  India,  being  manufacturing  as 
well  as  producing  countries,  had,  like  England,  at  all  times  a  large 
supply  of  the  raw  material.  They  have  been  so  drained  of  cotton, 
that  prices  were  at  last  accounts  much  higher  at  their  markets  than 
at  Liverpool. 

Egypt  is  the  onl}^  country  that  has  made  a  rapid  stride  in  the  pro- 
duction of  cotton ;  and  that  has  been  done  at  the  expense  of  other 
agricultural  pursuits.  She  has,  however,  attained  her  maximum 
yield — her  largest  crop  being  only  a  little  in  excess  of  300,000  bales. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  paper  a  statement  is  given  of  the  stocks 
of  cotton  and  cotton  goods  within  the  United  Kingdom,  at  the  several 
annual  periods  from  1858  to  1864.  Large  as  was  the  falling  off  in 
the  stocks  of  raw  cotton  last  New  year's  day,  the  reduction  in  the 
stocks  of  goods  was,  it  will  be  seen,  much  greater.  In  all  the  dis- 
cussions that  have  taken  place  in  England  in  reference  to  the  cotton 
supply,  the  latter,  and  in  realitv,  most  important  branch  of  the  ques- 
tion has  been  entirely  overlooked.  That  omission  will  soon  be  made 
apparent  to  every  one  by  the  force  of  circumstances ;  that  is,  when 
the  shopkeepers  of  the  United  Kingdom  begin  to  replenish  their 
stocks  in  order  to  meet  the  demand  from  their  customers;  and  when 
the  distant  consuming  countries  call  for  increased  supplies,  their  im- 
portations of  cotton  goods  the  past  two  years  not  having  been  equal 
to  what  they  consumed — their  old  stocks  of  goods,  as  long  as  they 
lasted,  "  helped  out"  the  deficiency. 

The  total  exportations  of  yarns  and  goods  in  iveight  from  Great 
Britain,  were  as  follow  : 

In  1858,  -  -  -  610,741,000  pounds. 

In  1859,  -  -  -  633,871,000 

In  1860,  -  -  -  748,722,000 

In  186],  '  -  -  684,886,000 

In  1862,  .  -  -  410,000,000 

In  1863,  -  -  -  390.000,000 


3,478,220,000  pounds. 

These  figures  present  the  net  weight  of  the  goods.  The  cotton 
consumed  in  producing  them  increased  with  the  use  of  the  in- 
ferior sorts.  No  doubt,  whatever,  the  exportations  of  British  cotton 
goods  in  1859,  1860  and  1861  were  excessive — far  beyond  what 
was  necessary — and  subsequently  enabled  the  Eastern  countries 
to  part  with  more  than  the  usual  quantity  of  their  raw  cotton ;  and 
the  high  prices  ruling  since  have  induced  them  to  export  still  more  of 
their  staple  than  they  otherwise  would  have  consented  to  release. 
This  fact,  coupled  with  the  small  receipts  of  cotton  goods  from  the 
United  Kingdom  the  past  three  years,  will  augment  their  demand 
for  goods  for  very  many  months  to  come. 

The  cotton  consumed  and  the  cotton  yarns  and  goods  produced  by 
the  mills  of  the  United  Kingdom,  were  as  follows :  ' 


17 


DATE. 

Cotton  Consumed. 

Yarn«  ai.rt  frruda  pro- 
diict-d. 

1858, 
1859, 
1860, 
1861, 
1862, 
1863, 

895,600,000  lbs. 
966,600,000     " 
1,073,600.000     " 
997,400,000     " 
444,500,000     " 
553,260,000     " 

795,000,000  lbs. 

859,250,000     " 
973,650.(M!0     " 
8-16.500,000     " 
365.000,000     " 
4('0,000,000     " 

4,930,960,000  lbs. 

4,239,400,000  lbs. 

American  cotton  loses  but  12 i  per  cent,  in  the  process  of  conver- 
sion into  yarn,  while  other  descriptions  lose  from  20  to  40  per 
cent. — some  even  more ;  in  fact,  there  is  great  uncertainty  as  to  the 
yield  in  yarn,  in  consequence  of  the  irregularity  in  quality,  and  con- 
dition of  the  cotton  sent  from  the  eastern  countries,  as  well  as  South 
America. 

The  consumption  of  cotton  by  the  mills  in  1804,  has  been  greater 
than  in  either  of  the  two  previous  years.  This,  of  course,  has  given 
additional  employment  to  the  operatives.  Had  it  not  been,  however, 
for  the  increased  receipts  from  the  Southern  States,  many  of  the 
mills  would  have  been  closed.  The  American  cotton  coming  to  hand 
more  freely  than  was  expected,  enabled  the  spinners  to  consume 
more  of  the  inferior  cottons;  and  the  "cotton  fiimine,"  was  therefore 
at  one  time  thought  by  many  persons,  unfamiliar  with  the  detail  of  the 
trade,  to  be  at  an  end.  As  already  stated,  there  has  been  no  actual 
cotton  famine.  If  the  American  crop  of  1861  had  reached  Liverpool 
in  due  course,  there  would  have  been  no  sale  for  it:  the  markets  were 
then  overstocked  with  cotton  and  with  cotton  goods ;  and  if  the  war 
had  never  taken  place,  the  operatives  would  have  fared  just  as  badly 
as  they  have  done  the  past  three  years — perhaps  worse;  for,  in  tbat^ 
event,  all  the  cotton  interest  of  Lancashire  must  have  been  ru^ined: 
by  the  great  depreciation  which  most  assuredly  would  have  taken, 
place.  The  spinners  will  not  buy  raw  cotton,  unless  they  have  a 
demand  for  their  goods.  The  crop  of  1861  would,  therefore,  have 
remained  unsold,  except  to  speculators  at  very  low  rates.  Some 
persons  are  laboring  under  the  mistaken  idea  that  the  Confederate 
Government  should  have  seized  that  crop,  and  sent  it  forward  to. 
Europe.  It  could  not  have  been  depended  on  as  a  basis  of  credit;  for 
the  moral  effect  of  such  a  large  quantity,  even  when  stored  in  ware- 
bouses  at  Liverpool,  would  have  had  a  very  depressing  influence  upon 
prices.  It  might  have  been  well,  if  the  Constitution  permitted,  to 
have  purchased  the  whole  crop  of  1861,  and  kept  it  within  the  Con- 
federacy. But  it  is  believed  that  there  is  no  citizen  of  any  one  of 
the  Southern  States  who  in  1861  dreamed  that  the  conflict  with  the 
Northern  States  would  have  lasted  so  long.  The  world  was  in  a,. 
condition  to  do  without  the  planting  of  1862.  It  will  be  found  that 
it  is  the  loss  of  the  crops  of  1863  and  1864  that  has  influence€^ 
prices  so  greatly.  To  repeat,  it  has  been  a  mistake  to  attribute 
the  distress  in  the  manufacturing  districts  to  a  cotton  "famine." 
In  1827,  the  same  sort  of  distress  existed  in  France.     The  c6^ttoa 


18 

operatives  there  were  then  thrown  out  of  employment,  not  on  account 
ot'  the  absence  of  the  raw  material,  but  in  consequence  of  the  over- 
stock of  manufactured  goods  in  France,  for  which  there  was  no  de- 
mand in  other  countries.  Those  overstocks  were  caused  by  the 
erection  of  too  much  spinning  force  in  1825  and  1826.  Many  of  the 
manufacturers  were  mined;  and  it  was  not  until  the  year  1831  that 
the  overproduction  of  goods  was  consumed,  when  the  cotton  mills 
were  set  to  work  again.  The  importations  of  cotton  into  France  are 
principally  for  her  own  use.  But  she,  like  other  manufacturing 
countries,  had,  in  two  seasons,  previous  to  the  American  troubles, 
made  a  large  overproduction  of  cotton  goods.  She  usually  con- 
sumes within  her  borders  about  80  per  cent,  of  all  she  imports,  or 
150,000,000  pounds  per  annum,  being  at  the  rate  of  4  pounds  per 
head  for  her  entire  population,  although  many  of  her  inhabitants  do 
not  wear  any  cotton  goods.  On  the  other  hand,  Great  Britain,  as  a 
general  rule,  re-expoits  about  75  per  cent,  of  all  she  imports,  in  the 
raw  and  in  the  manufactured  state,  consuming  about  25  per  cent,  at 
home.  Her  people  need  9  pounds  per  head  per  annum,  when  the 
cotton  is  of  good  American  staple,  and  of  course,  a  larger  quantity 
when  the  cotton  is  of  the  inferior  qualities.  The  actual  home  con- 
•sumption  of  England  in  the  years  named  was  as  follows: 

In  1856,  -  -  28  per  cent,  of  the  importation. 

In  1859,  -  -  25         " 

In  1860,  -  -  23        " 

In  18()1,  -  -  29        " 

In  1862,  -  -  90         " 

In  186:^,  -  -  75 

It  is  a  fortunate  thing  for  England  that  she  was  possessed  of  such 
large  stocks  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods,  when  the  war  broke  out,  at 
a  cost  to  her,  of  7 pence  per  pound  for  the  raw  material  ;  and  it  is  also 
fortunate  for  her  that  she  has  received,  directly  and  indirectly  from  the 
Confederacy,  since  the  1st  of  September  1803,  over  4,000  bales  of 
cotton  per  week.  The  English  manuflicturers  and  merchants  held  a 
stock  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods,  at  home  and  abroad,  equal  to  three 
years'  demand,  which  they  have  been  dealing  out  at  three,  four 
and  five  prices.  And  no  sooner  did  that  supply  fail,  than  the  Con- 
federacy began  to  favor  them  with  the  much  needed  staple,  at  the 
above  named  rate  per  week. 

The  Yankees,  too,  have  had  the  benefit  of  a  portion  of  the  exports  of 
Confederate  cotton.  They  have  been  shipping  provisions  and  clothing 
to  Mexico  and  the  West  Indies,  and  receiving  in  exchange  therefor 
the  southern  staple.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  course  of  trade, 
the  federal  cotton  manufacturers  would  have  been  obliged  to  have 
continued  their  importations  of  the  raw  material  from  Eui'ope,  and 
thus  have  drawn  largely  upon  the  scanty  stocks  on  that  side  of  the 
Atlantic — enhancing  the  quotations  there,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
draining  the  precious  metals  from  the  Northern  States,  as  the  pro- 
visions and  clothing  shipped  by  them  to  Mexico  and  the  Islands  would 
n&i  have  found  a  market  elsewhere.  Hence,  the  Yankees  would  have 
ibeejs  f>bliged  to  part  with  their  gold.     It  is  a  singular  coincidence,  that 


19 

no  sooner  did  the  large  export  trade  in  breadstuffs  between  the  North- 
ern States  and  Europe;  which  began  just  about  the  time  of  the  se- 
cession of.  the  Southern  States  from  the  Federal  Union,  decline  to  its 
former  limited  amount,  than  these  new  outlrt;^  for  Yankee  produce 
were  opened  up.  This,  along  with  sales  of  clippers  and  other  ships, 
driven  from  the  seas  by  the  vigilance  of  Confederate  cruisers,  nnd 
captures,  by  Yankee  men-of-w^ar,  of  British  and  Confederate  property 
running  the  blockade,  furnished  the  federals  with  supplies,  wliicli 
otherwise  must  have  been  bought  and  paid  for  in  England.  King 
Cotton  has,  therefore,  in  this  manner,  materially  assisted  the  linances 
of  the  enemy.  On  top  of  all  this,  the  Federals,  who  have  been  more 
successful  in  finance  than  the  Confederates,  have  had  emissaries  in 
Europe,  who  have  succeeded  in  placing  upon  the  several  stock  ex- 
changes, and  in  various  other  ways,  from  £10,000,000  to  ^M  00,000,000 
of  0-20  bonds. 

Quite  a  brisk  trade  in  cotton  has  been  carried  on  for  some  niontljs 
past,  between  the  Confederate  and  Federal  States,  under  authority 
of  an  act  of  the  Washington  Congress,  approved  July  'J,  18G4;  which 
reads : 

That  it  shall  be  lawful  {'or  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  witii  the  appr'nal  of  the  Presi- 
f  dent,  to  authorize  afjents  to  purchase  for  the  United  StaK's  uny  productions  of  the  States 
^  declared  in  insurrection,  at  such  places  theiein  as  shall  be  desigiiiited  by  him,  j.t  such  jnices 
*'     as  shall  be  ag'reed  on   liy  the  seller,  not  exceedii  g  the  niaiket  value  thnrcof  at  the  jilace  of 

delivery,  nor  exceedinn^  three-fourths  ot  the  niarket  value  thereof  in  the  L-hy  of  New  York 

at  the  latest  quotation  known  to  the  agent  purchasing. 

While  the  Yankees  have  been  dealing  with  the  Southern  States, 
under  the  authority  of  their  Congress,  the  Confederates  have  been 
exchanging  produce  with  them,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  their 
country.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  North  has  been  izetting  chrap 
cotton,  and  the  Soutli  has  been  receiving  dear  bacon.  The  trade,  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  Confederate  authorities,  has  been  "  winked  at." 
A  contraband  traffic  should  not  have  been  permitted.  Swapping  off 
a  pound  of  cotton,  wdiich  should  have  produced  seventy-tive  cents, 
according  to  the  above  Act  of  the  Ft-deral  Congress,  for  a  pound  of 
bacon  worth  but  20  cents,  or  thereabouts,  in  the  samr.  currency, 
was,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  very  bad  business  management. 

There  has  been  a  constant  drain  of  cotton  from  Arkansas,  Louisiana 
and  Texas,  through  the  ports  of  Galveston  and  Matamoras,  which  has 
been  enriching  the  shoddy  men  engaged  in  the  transactions,  without 
giving  any  adequate  return  to  the  government  or  the  people  of  the 
Confederacy.  In  many  instances  where  government  officials,  both 
civil  and  military,  have  had  control  of  cotton,  frauds  have  been  prac- 
ticed to  such  a  shameful  degree,  that  public  attention  is  b^ing  drawn 
to  the  crime.  Blockade  running,  too,  has  been  conducted  at  a  rate  of 
extravagance  never  before  known.  The  syst^^nj  inaugurated  by  the 
parties  having  charge  of  many  of  the  ships  engaged  in  the  trade,  for 
costliness,  is  without  a  parallel  in  the  liistory  of  commerce.  There 
are  shoddy  captains,  shoddy  officers,  shoddy  crews,  shoddy  engi- 
neers, shoddy  pilots,  shoddy  firemen,  shoddy  stewards,  shoddy  cooks, 
etc.  etc.     The  expense  of  getting  a  bale  of  cotton  to  Liverpool  now^ 


20 

is  more  than  the  former  value  of  the  cotton  itself.  Very  few  of  the 
ships  bring  in  full  cargoes  of  supplies  ;  some  of  them  only  one-fourth 
of  their  capacity,  and  some  nothing  at  all.  All  of  them,  however, 
take  out  full  cargoes  of  cotton — even  to  deck  loads.  The  correspon- 
dent of  the  New  York  Herald  furnishes  the  following  account : 

While  speaking  at'  tliis  trade,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  a)lude  to  the  prosperity  of 
Martiinoras.  Every  house  is  occupied  iu  the  city  and  rents  are  enormously  high.  A  store 
which  rc-nted  for  a  few  hundred  dollars  only  before  the  cotton  trade  commenced,  now  com- 
mands thousands  of  dollars  per  year.  The  carpenter  and  brick  mason  are  busily  engaged 
in  fleeting  stores  in  every  part  of  the  city,  and  so  soon  as  they  are  completed  they  are  tilled 
with  goiids.  The  expense  of  living  there  is  from  one  to  three  dollars  per  day  in  sjiecie. 
Greenbacks  have  not  been  "  recognized"  by  the  Emperor  yet,  and,  of  course,  have  to  take 
a  back  seat.  I  noticed  but  little  business  doing  in  Brownsville;  the  terror  of  our  forces 
being  before  the  eyes  of  the  merchants  there,  they  keep  their  stocks  of  goods  light.  The 
city  of  Bagdad  also  deserves  a  favca-able  mention.  Where,  but  three  years  ago,  there  were 
but  two  or  tliree  board  shanties,  now  stands  Bagdad  a  full  grown  town,  with  a  population 
of  not  far  from  four  thousand.  It  can  boast  of  "  first  class"  hotels,  boarding  houses,  stores 
well  filled  with  goods,  saloons  and  restaurants  without  number,  and  last,  though  not  least, 
a  city  police,  which  maintains  order  by  night  and  by  day.  "  Cotton  is  king"  in  Matamoras 
and  Bagdad,  without  doubt,  for  it  gives  them  all  the  vitality  they  possess. 

It  is  quite  manifest  then,  that  if  the  Southern  States  had  been  in  a 
position  to  have  withheld  their  cotton  from  the  "  outer  world,"  the 
powers  of  Europe  would  by  this  time  have  been  forced  into  recogniz- 
ing their  independence.  But  are  not  the  Confederate  States  now  in 
a  position  to  retain  their  cotton?  As  it  is,  a  large  share  of  the  re- 
sources of  the  South  have  absolutely  been  dissipated  away.  Most  of 
the  legislation,  so  far,  seems,  by  its  practical  operation,  to  have  favored 
a  few  speculators,  who,  so  long  as  they  had  a  "  monopoly"  of 
the  trade  by  their  contracts,  by  which  they  were  making  7  or  800 
per  cent,  did  not  care  to  see  peace  brought  about.  The  trade  ought 
to  have  been  open  to  every  one,  free  from  all  restrictions,  and  then 
the  Confederacy  would  have  had  a  constituency  in  Europe  of  suth- 
cient  influence  to  put  a  pressure  upon  the  governments  in  favor  of 
recognition.  As  it  is,  the  trade  has,  by  unwise  arrangements,  been 
thrown  into  the  hands  of  a  few  individuals,  who  have  neither  social 
nor  political  influence  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  remark,  that  in  1810,  Spain,  in  considera- 
tion of  England's  attempt  to  mediate  in  all  disputes  with  the  South 
American  Colonies,  permitted  her  to  carry  on  a  direct  trade  with 
them.  In  a  short  time,  by  that  means,  the  Spanish  American 
republics  had  a  mercantile  constituency  in  England ;  and  it  was 
owing  to  the  influence  of  that  constituency  that  England  eventually 
recognized  the  independence  of  those  republics.  The  Southern 
States,  unfortunately,  have  no  such  constituency,  to  demand  justice 
for  them  at  the  doors  of  the  Foreign  offlce  in  Downing  street.  Nor 
is  this  all :  While  the  exports  of  the  Confederacy  (including  specie) 
should  have  within  the  past  sixteen  months  netted  ^25,000,000  ster- 
ling, the  imports  could  not  have  amounted  to  over  one-fifth  that  sum. 
In  fact,  by  the  system  adopted,  five  bales  of  cotton  have  been  given 
away,  when  one  bale  would  have  answered.  What  is  the  use  of 
buying  ships  and  purchasing  supplies,  and  paying  for  the  same  in  cot- 
ton at  6d.  perpLHind,  when  the  cotton  is  really  worth  28d.  per  pound. 
It  is  in  this  manner  that  the  resources  of  these  States  are  being  frit- 


21 

tered  away.  It  has  been  a  mistake  from  first  to  last,  to  mix  up  the 
supplies  for  the  Confederacy  with  cotton.  Surely,  it  would  be  better 
to  pay  for  all  the  foreign  supplies  in  gold,  and  retain  the  cotton.  The 
gold  would  buy  an  amount  of  supplies  five  times  greater  than  can 
be  obtained  under  the  present  system  :  and  what  is  more,  the  gold 
would  go  into  the  bank  vaults,  and  help  to  lower  the  rate  of  discount 
in  Lombard  street,  and  thus  put  an  extra  value  on  cotton,  while  the 
cotton  goes  to  Manchester,  and  assists  the  manufacturers,  as  already 
explained,  in  staving  otf  the  cotton  famine.  If  it  be  deemed  expe- 
dient to  continue  the  shipments  of  cotton,  instead  of  sending  forward 
gold  to  purchase  supplies,  it  would  be  well  to  have  the  cotton  stored 
in  warehouse  at  Liverpool,  and  not  sold.  It  is  quite  as  easy  to  bor- 
row money  upon  cotton  when  it  is  in  England,  as  to  sell  it.  The 
*'  moral  effect"  before  referred  to,  of  stocks  of  raw  cotton  in  ware- 
house, would  not  apply  in  this  instance ;  for  good  staple  cottons  are 
now  so  very  scarce. 

The  South  does  not  even  get  credit  for  the  quantities  of  cotton 
which  she  has  contributed  to  Europe.  In  addition  to  what  she  sent 
to  Enghmd  last  year,  she  shipped,  through  the  West  Indies  to  the 
continent  of  Europe,  15,000  baU's — in  value  equal  to  70,000  bales  at 
old  [>rices,  and  as  we  know,  the  Federal  manufacturers  were  also 
supplied.  The  British  Board  of  Trade  tables  only  credit  the  Con- 
federacy with  that  cotton  which  is  received  direct  from  her  ports, 
while  all  that  which  is  imported  indirectly  is  placed  to  the  account 
of  the  country  of  intermediate  export.  And  it  is  upon  these  Board 
of  Trade  returns  that  the  statesmen  and  journalists  of  Enijland  have 
been  basing  their  arguments — laboring  under  the  vain  delusion  that 
"other  countries"  had  greatly  increased  their  growth  of  cotton.  The 
Cotton  Supply  Association  has  not  had  the  candor  to  acknowledge 
the  facts  of  the  case.  On  the  contrary,  its  "organs"  have  repro- 
duced, without  explanatron,  the  erroneous,  or  rather  misplaced  figures 
furnished  by  the  government;  and  the  Association  itself  has  been 
publishing  weekly  the  most  visionary  statements  from  its  corre- 
spondents abroad,  so  ambiguously  worded  as  to  deceive  the  public 
mind  upon  the  important  question  of  cotton  supplies,  that  many 
people  believe  that  England  has,  in  a  great  measure,  become  inde- 
pendent of  the  Southern  States,  as  far  as  the  cotton  matter  is  con- 
cerned— and  this  is  one  reason  for  the  apathy  that  has  existed  in 
England  in  reference  to  the  Confederate  cause  for  so  many  months 
past.  If  recognition  or  mediation  could  only  be  brought  about  in 
time  to  permit  of  a  good  cotton  planting  in  I860,  the  finances  of  the 
South  would  be  soon  righted;  but  if  another  season  is  lost,  it  will  be- 
very  inconvenient  to  the  South. 

The  Manchester  Cotton  Supply  Association,  in  the  whole  eight 
years  of  its  existence,  and  after  spending  about  .£5,000  a  year,  has 
never,  by  its  own  efforts,  succeeded  in  producing,  or  getting  produced 
as  much  as  500  bales  of  cotton  ;  and  that  quantity  could  have  been 
raised  under  glass  in  England,  at  a  less  cost  than  the  expenditure  of 
the  Association  has  been.  What  matters  it,  if  in  countries  where 
only  a  few  hundred  weights  of  cotton  have  been  grown,  the  cultiva- 
tion should,  under  the  stimulus  of  high  prices,  have  been  augmented 


22 

100  or  200  per  cent.  ?  The  whole  additional  quantity  is  but  a  drop 
in  the  bucket,  in  comparison  with  the  void  created  by  the  partial 
loss  of  tlije  southern  crops.  The  people  of  England  are  very  much 
"at  sea"  on  this  cotton  question;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Cotton 
Supply  Association,  with  its  semi-official  privileges  and  reputation, 
to  enlighten  them  upon  the  subject.  Surely  if  cotton  was  being 
received  into  England  in  sufficient  supplies  for  "  five  days"  work  in 
the  week,  as  has  been  alleged,  the  prices  would  tumble  back  to  some- 
thing resembling  their  normal  condition,  instead  of  being  at  more 
than  four  rates,  because  the  currency  in  which  cotton  is  quoted  is  in 
no  manner  inflated;  and  there  never  was  more  than  "six"  working 
days  in  the  week.  The  cotton  mills,  even  in  the  most  active  times, 
"  rested  on  the  seventh  day."  The  deficiency  of  only  one-sixth  of  a 
full  supply  would  not  make  such  an  enormous  diffisrence  in  the  value 
as  now  exists.  Cotton  has  alread}^  touched  the  highest  point  ever 
reached.  To  be  sure  some  New  Orleans  middling  cotton  sold  at 
Liverpool  during  the  last  war  between  Grreat  Britain  and  the  United 
States  (1814),  at  §9  pence ;  but  that  quotation  was  in  paper  money, 
when  gold  was  at  a  premium  of  30  per  cent.  The  specie  price, 
therefore,  was  but  30  pence  per  pound. 

The  truth  is,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  cotton  manufacturers  of 
England,  although  they  have  done  a  smaller  business  in  qudntitij  since 
the  breaking  out  of  the  American  war,  they  have  done  a  greater 
business  in  value,  and  their  profits  were  never  before  so  large  in  any 
period  of  three  years  as  since  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter.  They  have 
had  the  advantage  of  gradually  hardening  prices,  while  the  other 
classes  of  the  community  have  assisted  them  in  the  support  of  tlieir 
idle  operatives.  Had  these  operatives  been  fully  employed,  the  manu- 
facturers themselves  w^ould  have  been  ruined,  because  the  world  was 
so  largely  overstocked  with  cotton  goods.  If  the  American  war  had 
been  brought  to  a  termination  at  any  time  previous  to  the  planting 
season  of  1862,  every  body  in  Europe  and  in  the  Federal  states,  inte- 
rested in  cotton,  in  whatever  shape,  or  wherever  held,  would  have 
been  ruined  ;  for,  up  to  that  time,  very  little  of  the  staple  had  been 
destroyed — a  fair  crop  had  been  reaped  in  1861,  and  cultivation 
would,  of  course,  upon  a  return  of  peace,  have  been  resumed.  The 
sales  by  the  manufacturers  of  cotton  goods  for  home  demand  and 
exportation,  taking  the  custom  house  returns  as  a  guide  from  1858 
to  1860,  inclusive,  wer<}  ^214,715,927,  while  those  from  1861  to 
1863,  inclusive,  were  .£240,067,424. 

The  quantity  of  raw  cotton,  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods,  in  the 
whole  world — civilized  and  uncivilized — is  believed  to  have  been  as 
follows,  at  the  periods  named: 

January  1,  1858,  -  -  5,000,000,000  pounds. 

January  1,  1859,  -  -  6,000,0(;0,000  " 

January  1,  1860,  -  -  7,0()0,000,0U0  «' 

January  1,  1861,  -  -  7,500,000,000  " 

January  1,  1862,  -  -  7,000,000,000  " 

January  1,  1863,  -  -  5,500,000,000  " 

January  1,  1864,  -  -  2,500,000,000  " 

And  on  January  1,  1865,  the  quantity  will  be  further  reduced  to 
1,500,000,000  pounds. 


23 

The  annual  consumption  of  American  cotton,  during  the  decade 
from  1S40  to  1850,  averaged  2^,400,000  bales  each  year.  The  disco- 
very of  gold  in  California  and  Australia  caused  a  large  expansion  of 
commerce.  There  was  a  sudden  extra  demand  for  the  American 
staple,  and  the  consumption  at  once  rose  to  3,000,000  bales  per 
annum,  at  which  it  remained  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  conflict 
in  America. 

In  the  year  1850,  the  quantity  of  American  cotton,  in  the  raw 
state  and  in  manufactured  goods  at  the  consuming  points,  was  equi- 
valent to  6,000,000  bales.     The  crops  that  followed  were: 

3851,   "   -        -        -        .  3,015,029  bales. 

1852,  ....  3,262,882  " 

1853,  -        -        -  2,930,027  " 

1854,  -        -        -  2,847,339  " 

1855,  ....  3,527,845  " 

1856,  ....  2,939,519  " 

1857,  ....  3,113,962  " 

21,636,603 

or,  an  average  of  3,090,943  bales  each  year;  which  was  just  equal 
to  the  requirements  of  mankind.     The  succeeding  crops  were: 

1858,  ....        3,851,481  bales. 
18.59,  ....        4,675,770     " 
I860,              ....        3,656,086    " 

12,183,3.37 

or,  an  average  of  4,061,112  bales  per  annum.  This  created  an  ex- 
cess of  3,000,000  bales  in  addition  to  the  stock  on  hand  in  1850,  or 
a  total  of  9,000,0110  bales,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  has  now  been 
consumed.  The  excess,  however,  was  hid  from  view,  in  consequence 
of  the  raw  cotton  being  converted  into  goods,  there  having  been  an 
increase  in  the  spinning  force  of  Europe  and  America,  in  1858.  1859 
and  1860,  of  33^  per  cent.  That  gave  a  fictitious  demand  for  raw 
cotton,  and  the  goods  made  therefrom  met,  likewise,  a  tictitious  de- 
mand by  reason  of  the  impetus  given  to  trade  after  the  close  of  the 
Crimean  war,  the  suppression  of  the  mutiny  iu  India,  and  the  set- 
tlement of  the  (litH(!ulties  in  Chino. 

In  consequence  ot  so  lorge  a  proportion  of  commercial  cotton,  con- 
sisting of  the  growth  of  the  Southern  States,  the  "  bale"'  became  the 
standard  of  measure,  when  speaking  of  quantity,  and  that  system  has 
been  continued  up  to  tlie  present  time.  But  it  is  just  as  absurd  to 
estimate  the  stocks  of  cotton  by  that  standard  now,  as  it  is  to  value 
the  cost  of  any  article  in  the  Confederacy  by  the  quotation  in  paper 
money.  American  bales  average  460  lbs.  in  weight,  but  those  of 
India  much  less.  Surats  weigh  but  370  lbs.,  and  Madras  and  Ben- 
gal only  290  lbs.  West  India  cotton  bales  contain  200  lbs. ;  Italy 
and  Malta,  220  lbs.;  Brazils,  ISO  lbs.;  Egyptian,  500  lbs.;  Turkish, 
350  lbs. ;  Grecian,  200  lbs. ;  Chinese  and  Japanese,  120  lbs. ;  Pe- 
ruvian, 150  lbs. ;  African,  150  lbs.  The  stocks  of  cotton,  as  reported, 
therefore,  give  a  very  incorrect  view  of  the  quantity;  and  that  incor- 
rect view  operates  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Southern  States;  for  it 
would  appear  to  the  uninitiated,  when  stated  in  bales,  as  if  the 
stocks  on  hand  as  well  as  the  importations  of  cotton  w^ere  greater 
than  they  really  are. 


24 

The  actual  consumption  of  cotton  has  gone  steadily  on.  If  there 
has  been  any  check  at  all,  it  has  been  only  in  the  natural  increase 
that  would  have  taken  place  these  last  three  or  four  years,  if  prices 
had  not  advanced.  But  after  peace  is  restored,  there  must  neces- 
sarily be  almost  as  great  a  bound  in  the  demand  as  there  was  when 
gold  was  discovered  in  California  and  Australia.  It  may  be  safe  to 
say  tliat  the  world  can  consume  on  an  average  4,500,000  bales  of 
American  cotton  for  each  year  for  the  next  ten  years.  The  old  stocks 
of  the  raw  material  have  been  so  largely  drawn  upon  to  makeup  for 
the  partial  stoppage  of  supplies  from  the  Confederacy,  that  the  ware- 
houses will  have  to  be  replenislied.  Thus,  in  addition  to  the  actual, 
there  will  be,  for  some  years  to  come,  a  fictitious  consumption  for 
cotton ;  and  prices  cannot  fall  back  to  their  former  level  until  the 
trade  resumes  its  normal  condition  in  relation  to  stocks. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  had  cultivation  been  continued  uninterruptedly 
in  the  South,  that  prices  would  not  have  averaged  in  the  six  years 
from  1861  to  1SG6,  inclusive,  over  4  pence  per  pound.  In  those  six 
years,  15,000,000,000  pounds  would  have  been  used — the  low  price 
increasing  the  consumption — at  a  cost  of  .£250,000,000  sterling; 
whereas  the  chances  are  that  prices  within  that  period  may  average 
16  pence  per  pound,  or  more:  but  if  that  average  price  proves  cor- 
rect, the  cost  to  consumers  will  be,  even  on  a  diminution  of  the 
quantity  to  the  extent  of  !25  per  cent.,  by  reason  of  the  higher  price, 
^e  750,000,000.  It  will  then  be  seen  that  the  American  war  is 
thus  insidiously  inflicting  a  great  loss  upon  other  nations  in  a  pecu- 
niary point  of  view,  to  say  nothing  of  the  derangement  of  the  system 
of  labor  in  all  those  countries,  where  an  increase  in  the  cultivation 
of  cotton  has  been  attempted. 

If  the  war  should  be  brought  to  a  close  in  time  to  enable  the 
Southern  people  to  plant  cotton  seed  for  4  or  5,000,000  bales  in 

1865,  the  money  that  will  be  received  for  that  crop  and  the  crop  of 

1866,  will  amount  to  as  large  a  sum,  perhaps  larger  than  would 
have  been  the  net  proceeds  of  the  several  crops  that  have  been 
missed.  In  this  view,  it  is  therefore  most  important  that  the  war 
should  terminate  this  winter. 

The  subjoined  is  an  estimate  of  the  quantity  of  cotton  in  the 
Confederacy,  September  1,  1864: 

Crop  of  1860,  remainiug  over  September  1,  1861 : 

At  the  ports,  including  300  bales  new  crop,         -  -  37,574 

lu  the  interior  towns,  .  .  -  6,200 

On  the  plantations,  ....  25,000 

68,744 

Crop  of  1861  (estimated),      ...  -  -        3,500,000 

Crop  of  1862  "...--  1,300,000 
Crop  of  1863        "...--  500,000 

Crop  of  1864        "..--.  500,000 

5,868,744 
Destroyed  and  damaged,  equal  to  (estimated)  -     1,100,000 

Exported  and  stolen  by  the  Yankees,  "  -        700,000 

Consumed  within  the  Confederacy,  "  -     2,000,000 

3,800,000 


September  1, 1864— bales,  2,068,744 


25 

The  writer  of  these  pages  is  frequently  asked  why  the  British 
rulers  do  not  express  fears  concerning  the  threatened  cotton  famine? 
The  answer  is,  that  they  have  not  looked  deeply  into  the  subject. 
The  writer  greatly  regrets  that  but  few  persons  have  taken  the  pains 
to  investigate  the  matter.  He  would  have  been  glad  to  have  had 
many  coadjutors  in  the  attempt  to  elucidate  so  important  a  topic,  as 
it  is  next  to  impossible  for  one  person  to  stem  the  current  of  public 
opinion,  no  matter  how  incorrect  that  opinion  may  be,  when  the 
<'  leading  and  governing  classes"  set  it  astray.  The  Queen  of  Eng- 
land herself,  in  her  last  address  to  Parliament,  made  an  error  in  stating 
that  "  there  is  every  reason  to  look  forward  to  an  increased  supply 
of  cotton  from  various  countries  which  have  hitherto  but  scantily 
furnished  our  manufacturers  with  this  material  for  their  industry." 
Lord  Derby,  in  his  speech  on  the  same  occasion,  made  the  same  mis- 
take. And  the  British  Commissioners  of  Customs,  in  tlieir  recent 
report,  boast  of  an  extra  growth  of  cotton  in  the  Bahamas,  the  Ber- 
mudas and  Mexico,  and  attempt  to  verify  their  assertions  bv  the 
Board  of  Trade  returns,  which,  as  before  remarked,  place  to  the 
credit  of  those  countries  all  the  Confederate  cotton  sent  thither  for 
reshipment. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  while  England  frequently,  previous  to 
the  difficulties  in  America,  appointed  committees  from  the  House  of 
Comuions  to  enquire  into  the  cotton  supply,  no  such  committee  has 
been  suggested  since  the  war  commenced.  Possibly  something  of 
the  kind  may  be  entertained  at  the  coming  session.  It  is  well  known 
that  an  Englishman  will  not  move  without  an  "  Act  of  Parliament." 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  Confederacy  has  had,  for  the  reasons 
herein  named,  the  people  of  Manchester  against  it ;  and  it  is  natural 
that  the  English  rulers  should  withhold  the  recognition  of  the  South 
until  the  persons  most  immediately  interested  in  the  cotton  trade 
should  express  their  opinion  in  favor  of  such  a  policy.  The  cot- 
ton speculators  at  Liverpool  have  also  thrown  cold  water  upon  re- 
cognition. So  have  all  those  persons  engaged  in  the  Indian,  Chinese, 
South  American  and  Egyptian  trade :  and  almost  the  entire  banking 
interest  has  been  opposed  to  the  South,  in  consequence  of  the  long 
established  connection  with  the  North.  The  writer  by  no  means 
defiends  the  course  of  the  British  rulers,  but  with  this  explanation, 
it  will  be  easy  to  perceive  the  cause  for  the  tardiness  which  they 
have  exhibited  towards  extending  to  the  Confederacy  that  justice 
which  it  has  had  a  right  to  expect.  Recognition  is,  in  truth,  not 
the  right  word  to  use.  Great  Britain,  France  and  all  the  other 
powers  should  have,  at  the  very  outset  of  the  secession  movement, 
received  the  accredited  ministers  froni  the  Southern  States  under  the 
old  treaties,  because  the  Federal  Government,  unlike  the  individual 
states,  has  never  been  formalh'  acknowledged  as  an  independent  power 
by  any  nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

It  is  neither  the  province  nor  the  wish  of  the  writer  to  attack  Con- 
federate legislation  on  the  subject  of  cotton  ;  nor  yet  to  intrude  his  ad- 
vice upon  the  Congress  of  these  sovereign  States  ;  but  he  desires  to 
express  his  opinion  that  England,  unless  for  some  selfish  political  causes, 
A 


26 

will  never  throw  the  weight  of  her  iDfluence  in  favor  of  the  South  until 
Manchester  speaks,  and  that  Manchester  is  not  likely  to  speak  until 
the  Confederate  "  cotton  leak"  is  stopped.  In  ordinar}^  times  4  to 
5,000  bales  of  American  cotton  reaching  Liverpool  every  week  would 
be  inconsiderable ;  but-now  that  the  stocks  of  raw  cotton  and  cotton 
goods  are  so  much  reduced,  that  quantity  becomes  an  important  fea- 
ture in  the  trade  of  Great  Britain.  Had  the  exportation  of  cotton 
from  the  Confederacy  been  prohibited  a  year  ago,  England  would  by 
this  time  have  been  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of 
the  South ;  for  the  amount  of  cotton  contributed  to  Lancashire 
within  the  last  twelve  months  has  been  the  means  of  keeping  her 
mills  in  partial  operation.  The  position  of  the  cotton  trade  is  quite 
different  now  from  what  it  was  then,  or  even  two  years  ago.  The 
British  cotton  manufacturers  will  not  be  content  to  remain  quiet,  if 
they  are  deprived  of  the  raw  material  when  they  have  a  demand  for 
their  fabrics.  So  long,  however,  as  the  Confederacy  voluntarily  con- 
tributes to  their  wants,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  they  will  exert 
themselves  to  bring  about  peace. 

No  particular  reference  has  been  made  in  this  paper  to  that  class 
of  cotton  known  as  Sea  Island.  The  quantity  of  it  required  is  so 
trifling — only  one  per  cent. — that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  discuss  it. 
It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  when  the  cultivation  of  Sea 
Island  was  extended  some  years  ago,  the  price  fell  to  such  a  point 
that  the  planters  deemed  it  best  for  their  own  interests  to  place  a 
limit  upon  its  production. 

Englishmen  vainly  congratulate  themselves  that  their  country 
**is  no  longer  mainly  dependent  upon  one  source  for  their  cotton 
supply."  They  make  no  allowance  for  the  old  stocks  of  cot- 
ton that  have  been  attracted  to  their  shores  by  the  high  prices  that 
have  ruled.  And  how,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  can  more  than 
one  source  of  supply,  as  far  as  quantity  is  concerned,  be  kept  up  ? 
The  cotton  growers  of  the  world  produce  cotton  for  the  purpose  of 
selling  it — not  for  keeping  it  on  hand  to  make  England  "indepen- 
dent" of  the  Southern  States.  So,  if  the  planters  in  other  countries 
could  not  find  at  all  times  a  ready  market  for  their  staple,  they  would 
soon  cease  to  cultivate  it:  and  Englishmen  themselves  are  not  in- 
clined to  purchase  more  cotton  than  they  want,  year  after  year,  even 
if  there  was  cotton  to  sell  in  those  other  countries.  In  alluding  to 
America  as  a  grower  of  cotton,  it  has  been  the  habit  of  Englishmen 
to  speak  in  the  singular.  They  talk  of  the  hardship  of  "one  source 
of  supply,"  when,  in  truth,  that  supply,  instead  of  being  from  "one 
source,"  is  contributed  by  twelve  sovereign  states. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  shortly  after  the  Confederate  victories 
in  front  of  Richmond  in  the  summer  of  18(32,  the  British  govern- 
ment, it  was  reported,  had  determined  to  acknowledge  the  indepen- 
dence of  these  States.  An  intimation  was  not  onl}^  thrown  out  to 
that  effect  by  the  friends  of  the  Ministry,  but  Mr.  Gladstone,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  his  speech  at  New  C-astle,  conveyed 
the  same  idea  to  the  public.  His  remarks,  in  fact,  savored  so  much 
of  recognition,  that  the  Lancashire  people  became  alarmed,  and  ex- 


27 

erted  their  influence  in  order  to  prevent  the  government  taking  such 
a  step.     Those  Lancashire  people,  and  with  them  may  be  included 
the  Yankee  and  Confederate  cotton  speculators,  were  large  holders 
of  raw  cotton  and  cotton  goods,  and  they  feared  that  the  opening  of 
the  Southern  ports  would  be  the  means  of  deluging  them  with  cotton, 
and  lowering  the  value  of  wiiat  they  held.     Ko  such  fear,  however, 
now  exists.     The  same  interests  are  now  well  cleared  of  their  stocks, 
and  they  know  that  the  quantity  of  cotton  now  in  the  Confederacy 
is  very  much  less  than  the  amount  they  estimated  to  be  on  the  plan- 
tations over  two  years  ago.     No  opposition,  therefore,  need  be  again 
e-pected  from   that  quarter.     On  the  contrary,  the  position  of  the 
trade  is  at  present  so  different  from  what  it  wa^  then,  that  they  may 
be  expected  to  urge  the  government  to  interpose,  so  that  the  mills 
will   l3e  able  to  resume,  as  far  as  possible,  their  accustomed  work. 
The  importance  then,  of  shutting  off  the  Confederate  contributions 
of  cotton,  will  no  doubt  be  apparent  to  every  one.    The  mill  owners, 
hitherto,  have  been  assisted,  in  the  support  of  their  idle  operatives, 
by  persons  of  every  class  in   the   Kingdom.     That  assistance   was 
cheerfully  proffered,  under  the  belief  that  the  mill  owners  were  actual 
sufferers  by  the  so-called  "  cotton  famine."     But  now  that  it  is  known 
that  the  cotton  lords  have   been  Uiaking  money  by  the  short  supply 
ot  the  raw  material,  forcing  up  the  values  of  their  old  stocks,  the 
other  classes  of  the  conun unity  will  be  very  loth  to  aid  them  in  con- 
tinuing their  work  people  in  idleness.     Nor  will  the  spinners  and 
manufHCturers  themselves  remain  quiet:   About  one  hundred  millions 
of  pounds  sterling  are  invested  directly  in   n)ills  and  machinery,  to 
say  nothing  of  entire  villages,  whose  rental  depends  upon  the  earn- 
ings of  persons  employed  in  the  production  of  cotton  goods.     The 
railway  and  various  other  interests  are  likewise  deeply  concerned  in 
having  a  renewal   of  the  supplies  of  the  American  staple.     Great 
Britam  cannot  conduct  her  India  trade  successfully  without  the  sup- 
port of  Southern   cotton.     Her  exports   to  that  country,  in    1S03 
amounted  to   ^20,000,000,  of  which   ^14,000,000,  or  more  than 
two-thirds,  was  composed  of  cotton  goods.    The  kinds  of  goods  most 
in  use  in  India  have  to  be  made  out  of  Anierican  cotton — none  other 
w^ill  answer,  as  has  been  shown  in  this  i)aper.     Should  the  supply  of 
good  staple  cotton  fall   off,  India  will   again  take  to  making  all  the 
goods  she  requires  for  her  own  wants.    Although  she  cannot  increase 
her  "growing"  force,  she  can,  by  a  greater  use  of  machinery,  aug- 
ment her  spinning  force.     It  never  has  paid,  and  never  will  pay  to 
import  cotton  from  India  into  England,  and  to  export  it  back  from 
England  to  India  in  the  manulactured  state.     The  cotton  that  India 
parts  with  is  consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries. 

Itmay  seem  strange,  but  it  is  nevertheless  the  fact,  that  most  of  the 
cotton  spinners  and  inanufacturers  of  Lancashire,  have  been  invest- 
ing their  profits  of  the  last  few  years  in  the  erection  of  new  mills 
and  machinery— thus  giving  partial  employment  to  their  discharged 
operatives  who  have  not  been  engaged  on  the  public  works ;  and  at 
the  same  time  placing  themselves  in  a  position  to  enter  the  cotton 
markets  for  additional  supplies  of  the  raw  material  so  soon  as  the 


28 

war  is  brought  to  a  termination.  The  people  of  Lancashire,  it  will 
thus  be  seen,  have  no  notion  of  abandoning  the  cotton  trade.  If 
such  an  idea  had  entered  their  heads,  they  would  have  invested  their 
earnings  of  the  past  four  years  in  something  else  than  bricks  and 
mortar,  and  spindles  and  power  looms.  The  fact  is,  that  while  Eng- 
land was  doing  her  full  share  of  the  cotton  manvfacmring  business  of 
the  world,  she  was  gradually  monopolizing  the  spinning  business  of 
mankind.  She  has  already  become  a  gigantic  "  spinster."  In  the 
six  years,  1858  to  1863,  she  exported  935,283,589  pounds  of  twist 
and  yarn,  against  a  net  importation  of  raw  cotton  of  4,771,876,480 
pounds.  After  making  an  allowance  for  the  loss  of  weight  in  spin- 
ning, it  will  be  ascertained  that  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  net  importa- 
tions of  cotton  into  England  were  re-exported  in  twist  and  yarn. 
With  the  large  amount  of  capital  invested  in  cotton  spinning  and 
manufacturing  establishments,  and  with  the  advantage  of  her  moist 
climate,  so  well  suited  for  the  fabrication  of  the  staple  of  the  South, 
England  is  the  commercial  as  well  as  the  natural  ally  of  the  Con- 
federate States  Her  rulers  will  soon  be  compelled  to  admit  that 
important  truth. 

With  the  aid  of  all  the  influence  of  the  statesmen  of  Europe,  all 
the  power  of  the  leading  capitalists,  and  all  the  energy  of  the  mer- 
cantile community,  other  countries  have  not  increased  their  produc- 
tion since  1860,  over  350,000  bales.  That  small  quantity  may  well 
be  called  a  "miserable  pittance,"  in  comparison  with  the  partial  loss 
of  the  Southern  crops.  The  Southern  States,  prior  to  the  war, 
yielded  two-thirds  of  all  the  cotton  grown  in  the  world,  and  fur- 
nished three-fourths  of  all  that  which  entered  the  channels  of  com- 
merce. 

The  subjoined  table  gives  the 

Tariff  Duties  on  American  Cotton — 1864. 


COUNTRIES. 

QUANTITIES. 

KATES  OP  DUTY. 

Great  Britain, 

Free. 

France, 

220  lbs. 

$3  92  (20  francs). 

Spain, 

101  lbs. 

In  national  vessels,  79^ ;  foreign,  $1  85. 

Russia, 

36  lbs. 

183  cents. 

Bremen, 

Ad  valorem. 

1  of  I  per  cent. 

Sardinia, 

- 

Free. 

Belgium, 

- 

Free. 

Austria, 

- 

Free. 

Sweden  and  Norway, 

- 

In  Sweden,  free;  in  Norway,  nearly  ^  per  cent. 

Idexico, 

101  lbs. 

$1  50. 

lamburg. 

Ad  valorem. 

.j^  of  1  per  cent. 

Holland, 

- 

Free. 

Two  Sicilies, 

192.50  lbs. 

$8. 

Br.  N.  A.  Possessions, 

_ 

Free. 

Denmark, 

_ 

Free. 

Portufjal, 

101  lbs. 

21.5  cents. 

Tuscany, 

_ 

Free. 

Papal  States, 

74.86  lbs. 

10  cents. 

Cuba, 

101  lbs. 

In  national  vessels,  194;  in  foreign  vessel;,,  27(| 
per  cent.,  on  a  valuatiou  of  $5. 

29 


American  Cotton  Crop  of  1859. 


Per  Census — Bales  of 
400  lbs.  each. 

Per  Prices  Current— Actual  Number  of  Bales. 

Illinois, 

6 

Missouri, 

JOG 

Kentucky, 

4  092 

Virginia, 

]2  7:i7 

50  987,  part  a^rown  in  North  Carolina. 

Florida, 

m  322 

192  7'J4,  part  grown  in  Georgia. 

N»»rth  Carolina, 

145.-!  4 

41  194,  s.Mue  shipped  through  Va.  and  S.  C. 

Tpunepsoe, 

227  450 

108  070.  some  included  with  Louisiana. 

South  Carolina, 

353  413 

510  109,  part  grown  in  N.  C.  and  Georgia. 

Arkansas, 

307  485 

included  with  Louisiana. 

Texas, 

4(t5  100 

252  424,  si  me  included  with  Louisiana. 

Georgia, 

71 H  840 

525  219,  sv.me  included  with  Sotuh  Carolina. 

Louisiana, 

722  218 

2  139  425,  part  grown  in  other  States. 

Alabama, 

997  978 

843  012 

Mississippi, 

1  195  099 

included  with  Louisiana. 

5  190  944  bales. 

4  009  770  bales  of  445  lbs. 

At  400  lbs.  each, 

2  078  777  000  lbs. 

2  078  047  0.50  lbs. 

The  production  of  cotton  in  other  countries  than  the  Southern 
States,  cannot  be  increased  beyond  the  yield  of  1S64.  The  hii'^h 
prices  that  have  ruled  have  already  stimulated  cultivation  to  the 
utmost  extent  possible,  and  that  extra  cultivation,  as  already  stated, 
does  not  give  to  the  world  more  than  350,000  bales  l)eyond  the 
quantity  grown  in  ISGO,  or  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  ordinary  sup- 
ply of  the  Confederacy.  Cotton  cultivation  is  a  question  of  labor  as 
well  as  soil  and  climate. 

India  ranks  as  the  second  cotton  producing  country  ;  yet  her  entire 
yield  does  not  exceed  2,000,000  bales  of  li2:ht  weiuht  and  inferior 
quality.  Slie  exports  about  one-half  of  what  she  grows.  An  Eng- 
lish traveler,  who  returned  from  India  last  year,  says : 

Cotton  in  most  parts  of  India  is  cultivjited  in  rotation  with  other  crops,  and  is  seldom 
looked  upon  a.'^  the  main  stay  of  the  ryot,  but  only  as  a  subordinate  product.  The  great  staple 
of  cultivation  every  where  is  breadstuffs,  in  some  shape  or  another.  The  hcldings  of  the 
ryots  are  extremely  small,  and  it  has  been  the  custom  from  time  immemorial  for  each  indi- 
vidual to  raise  sufficient  food  for  his  own  family.  In  addition  to  this,  he  may  grow  a  little 
plot  of  cotton,  yielding  on  the  average  on«^  or  two  bales  But  the  ryot  will  not  neglect  tlm 
raising  of  food  for  the  sake  of  cotton,  however  high  its  price  may  be.  No  sui-plus  stocks 
of  grain  are  available  to  meet  an  emergency  of  this  kind;  the  internal  commerce  of  India 
is  .-itill  in  the  crudest  possible  shape;  no  such  thing  exists  as  large  districts  devoted  to  .spe- 
cial liranches  of  agriculture,  and  drawing  their  food  from  some  othrr.  The  rule,  speaking 
generally,  all  over  India,  is  for  each  locality  to  raise  its  own  supplies  of  food,  find  for  each 
separate  cultivator  to  do  the  same  for  himself.  So  true  is  tfiis  that,  if  the  grain  crops  fail  in 
any  one  region,  a  famine  ensues,  and  people  perish  by  thousands,  even  though  the  rest  of 
India  is  unaffected.  During  the  famine  in  the  North\\'»'stern  Provinci^'s  in  180l,  half  a  mil- 
lion of  people  are  said  to  have  <lied  from  starvation,  whili'  in  tlie  most  of  India  the  crops 
were  not  deficient:  but  so  wretched  were  the  nieans  of  internal  communication,  and  so 
little  was  the  trade  in  breadstuffs  oigtinized.  that  supplies  could  ]iot  be  thrown  into  the 
fainislied  districts  in  time  to  avert  this  awful  ca  amity  It  is  not,  then,  to  be  wondered  that 
the  natives  are  reluctant  to  dinJuish  their  food  crops  in  order  to  turn  their  land  into  cotton. 

Mr.  W.  Wanklyn,  the  s^entleman  who  had  charge  of  the  cotton 
samples  in  the  International  exhibition  of  1S62,  says: 

Next  the  ginning.  The  American  uses  for  the  Sea  Island  the  Macarthy  gin,  and  all  evi- 
dence goes  to  prove  that  this  gin  is  the  best,  and  the  only  gin  which  does  not  injure  long 
staples.  Those  are  Sea  Island,  Brazilian  and  Egyptian;  it  also  chaas  New  Orleans  with 
less  injury  than  the  saw  gin,  but  does  less  quantity,  and  therefore  is  not  in  favor. 


30 

The  saw  g-in  injures  all  cottons  except  A.merican  and  African.  It  chops  East  Indian  to 
bits.  The  best  int.plenient  for  >  ast  Indian  or  other  short  stapled  is,  I  think,  Piatt's  or  Dun- 
lop';?,  or  Dobson  and  Barlow's  gins ;  but  this  is  a  question  Avhich  at  present  is  not  by  any 
means  decided.  Ginning-  is  a  very  important  affair,  for  I  can  show  cotton  worth  13d.  per 
pound  cleaned  in  a  proper  machine,  and  the  same  cotton,  having  been  put  through  an  im- 
p)'i)j).-r  machine,  worth  only  8d. 

Tlie  Lovdon  Examiner,  a  journal  in  no  manner  in  the  interest  of 
the  Confederate  cause,  utters  the  following  candid  words  in  reference 
to  Indian  cotton: 

Ir  nppears,  then,  that  after  ransacking  the  whole  temperate  and  tropical  Avorld,  from  Italy 
to  Jiipiin.  and  giving  enormous  bounties  for  cotton,  our  present  supply  is  equal  to  no  more 
than  three  and  a  half  days  out  of  six  of  the  quantity  necessary  to  work  our  looms  in  em- 
ploy. Supposing  that  no  increase  in  our  supply  had  taken  place  for  three  years,  which 
would  be  contrary  to  the  experience  of  fifty  years,  our  supply  wa.%  short  last  year  of  what 
it  was  in  1861,  or  before  the  Amei-ican  civil  war,  in  the  proportion  of  seven  to  twelve,  or  a 
deficit  running  closr;  upon  one-half.  The  full  supply  of  Iritil  cost  us  about  £  3l),(J00,OUO, 
and  the  present  year  (1804),  scaut  one,  it  is  estimated,  will  cost  us  not  less  than  £  ^10,000,000; 
so  that  for  the  scaut  supply  we  are  paying  about  three  times  what  we  did  for  the  full  one. 
India  is  the  country  which  has  furnished  us  with  the  largest  supply  to  make  up  for  the  loss 
of  the  American  cottim;  but  India,  as  we  always  predicted  in  this  journal,  will  never  supply 
the  place  of  Auierica,  and  its  failure  to  do  so  has  been  most  exemplary.  In  1861,  the  price 
of  Surat,  or  the  best  Imlian  cotton,  in  the  Liverpool  market,  was  from  3^.  to  4d.  a  pound ;  it 
ranges  at  present  at  troui  Is.  8d.  to  Is.  J  Id.  a  pound,  so  that  we  are  really  paying  a  bounty 
of  some  500  per  cent,  on  the  nominal  price;  and  what  has  been  the  result?  In  J8t)l,  India 
supplied  us  with  9(')8,000  bales  of  cotton,  and  last  year  with  J , •220,000,  a  paltry  increase  of 
no  more  than  26  per  cent.;  and  this,  too,  is  not  the  produce  of  increased  growth,  but  the 
result  of  withdrawing  the  large  supply  formerly  sent  to  (!hina,  and  sweeping  the  India 
market  of  all  manner  of  rubbish,  raising  the  cost  enornu>usly  to  the  Indian  wearer  and 
consumer.  As  to  the  quality  of  Indian  cotton,  it  has  not  only  undergone  no  improvement, 
but  suffered  a  great  deterioration.  "Indian  coiton,"  said  Mr.  Oheetham,  at  the  Manchester 
meeting,  "was  never  more  contemptible,  in  the  opinion  of  the  manufacturer  and  workmen, 
than  at  the  present  moment." 

Thn  El'mlmrgli  Brview,  a  periodical  that  cannot  be  charged  with 
having  any  partiality  for  the  South,  thus  honestly  expresses  itself: 

Already  the  intensity  of  the  demand  has  induced  strange  devices  to  meet  it,  and  has 
inflicted  distress  upon  inore  than  one  class  of  tlie  native  counnunity.  Not  only  have  the 
warehouses  at  Mirrapore  and  other  marts  of  trade  been  emptied  of  their  tdd  and  probably 
dami^ged  stock,  but  all  the  rubbish  that  could  be  got  together  and  screwed  into  bales,  includ- 
ing even,  it  is  said,  th(^  wadding  of  furniture,  quilts  and  cloaks,  has  been  shipped  to  Eng- 
land :  circumstances  which  will  account,  in  some  measure,  for  the  complaints  of  the  inferior 
quality  of  recent  importations.  The  native  spinners  and  weavers  have  thus  been  deprived 
of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  raAv  material  for  their  own  use,  and  are  reduced  in  some  parts 
of  the  C(juntry  to  extreme  distress.  But  for  a  happy  demand  for  labor  upon  railways  and 
other  public  works,  their  sufferings  would  have  been  still  more  severe.  The  people  of  the 
northern  and  other  more  elevated  parts  of  the  country,  whose  dress  and  coverlets  in  the 
cold  s«'ason  are  mainly  composed  of  cotton  fabrics,  quilted  with  cotton  wool,  have  been  put 
to  very  o-reat  inconvenience,  to  say  the  least,  by  the  extremely  high  price  to  which  an  article 
of  such  prijne  necessity  has  risen. 

Egypt  stands  third  on  the  list  as  a  cotton  exporting  country.  She, 
however,  has,  under  the  influence  of  high  prices,  reached  her  maxi- 
mum yield — about  300,000  bales — and  in  doing  so,  has  so  diverted 
her  system  of  labor,  that  she  has  been  obligt^d  to  become  an  importer 
of  grain  from  her  neighbors.  Thus,  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  this  year,  not  owing,  how^ever,  to  a  non-supply  of  water  from 
tlie  Nile,  but  in  consecpience  of  the  scarcity  of  labor.  Mr.  Samuel 
Smith,  who  visited  Egypt  a  short  time  since,  wTites :  "  Indeed,  the 
only  circumstances  which  limit  the  spread  of  cotton  culture,  are 
want  of  water  and  scarcity  of  labor."  Mr.  Smith  states  that  the 
water  can  be  procured  by  cutting  new  canals;  but  he  does  not  suggest 
any  method  by  which  additional  labor  can  be  obtained.     Cotton,  ia 


31 

Egypt,  is  a  very  exhausting  crop,  and  cannot  be  grown  surecssivoly 
on  the  same  soil;  it  can  only  be  raised  in  alternate  years  witli  ad- 
vantage. 

Brazil  is  the  next  largest  grower  of  cotton.  Nearly  the  whole  of 
her  exportations  are  sent  to  Great  Britain,  to  which  country  she 
contributed  in  1863,  56, -508  bales  of  400  pounds  each,  against 
58, -H?  bales  in  1862;  43,226  bales  in  1861  ;  43,217  bales  in  1860; 
56,197  bales  in  1859,  and  46,545  bales  in  1S5S.  It  is  probable  that 
the  returns  for  1864  will  show"  a  slight  increase  in  the  rniantity  of 
cotton  received  from  Brazil,  as  she  is  now"  pretty  well  drained  of  her 
old  stocks.  There  has  been  no  increase  of  moment  in  production 
there,  or  in  any  other  sugar  growing  country,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of 
labor.  To  be  sure,  a  country  like  Brazil  could  increase  her  pro- 
duction of  cotton,  by  importing  Coolie  labor;  but  then  it  would 
take  many  years  to  obtain  a  sufficient  number  of  Chinese  to  make 
any  important  addition  to  the  agricultural  force  of  Biazil. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  China  is  not  naturally  a  cot- 
ton exporting  country,  though  she  sent  to  England  in  18(i3  and  18(54 
considerable  quantities,  for  the  reasons  stated,  namelj" — a  reduction  of 
her  stock  of  raw  cotton,  in  consequence  of  the  high  prices  that  have 
prevailed,  and  also  owing  to  her  markets  having  been  overcrowded 
with  cotton  goods,  manufactured  chiefly  from  American  cotton. 
China,  unlike  the  other  cott<ui  growing  countries,  has  an  abundance 
of  labor,  but  an  insuthcient  area  of  soil  for  cultivation.  Her  condi- 
tion in  this  respect  will  be  explained  by  the  following  extract  from 
Sir  John  Bowring's  letter,  dated  Government  House,  Hong  Kong, 
13th  July  1855,  and  addressed  to  the  Registmr  General  at  London  : 

I  think  thert^  is  abntKlant  evidence  of  redundant  population  pressing-  mon^  and  more 
heavily  upon,  and  .sutft-tiug  more  and  more  severely  from  an  inad<^quate  supply  of  food. 
Thouijli  there  are  ptrind.s  winni  extra">rdinary  harvests  enable  the  Chiut-.^e  to  transport  rice, 
the  piincipal  food  of  the  people,  from  one  province  to  an<»ther,  and  even  souierimes  to  fun-ign 
countries,  yt:'t  of  late  the  importations  from  foreign  countries  have  tx-en  cntHmous,  and 
China  has  drawn  laro^ely  on  tlie  Straits,  the  Phillippines,  8iam,  and  other  places,  to  fill  up  a 
vast  deficiency  in  supply.  Famine  has.  notwithstauding^.  cununitted  dreadful  ravages,  and 
the  provisions  of  the  imperial  granaries  liave  been  \vliolly  inadequnte  to  provide  for  the 
public  wants.  It  is  true,  that  cultivation  has  been  greatly  interfered  with  by  intestinal  dis- 
orders, and  that  there  has  been  much  destruction  by  inundations,  incendiarism,  an.)  other 
accidt-ntSl  or  transitory  causes;  but  without  reference  to  these,  1  am  disposed  to  believe  that 
there  is  a  greater  incnv^se  in  the  numV)ers  of  the  population  than  in  the  home  production  of 
the  food  for  their  use.  It  must  ])e  remembered,  too,  that  v-  hile  the  race  is  thus  augmenting, 
the  causes  which  lead  to  the  destruction  of  food — such  as  the  (iverf^MW  of  rivers,  fires,  rava- 
ges of  locusts,  bad  seasons,  and  other  calamities — an-  to  a  great  extent  beyond  the  control 
of  human  prudence  or  hiunan  exertion.  It  would  be  difficult  to  show  what  new  element 
could  be  introduced,  which  would  raise  up  the  native  supply  of  food  beyond  its  present 
productiveness,  considering  that  hand  husbandry  has  given  to  cultivation  more  of  a  horti- 
cultural than  an  agricultural  character.  *  *  *  *  ju  n]\  parts  of  China  to  which  we 
have  access,  we  find  not  uu\y  that  every  foot  of  gn«und  is  cultivated  which,  is  capable  of 
producieg  any  thing,  but  that,  from  the  value  of  the  land  and  the  siuplus.of  -abor,  cultiva- 
tion is  rather  that  of  gardeners  than  of  liusbandmen.  The  sides  of  hills,  in  their  natural  de- 
clivity, often  unavaiialile,  are,  by  a  succession  of  aititicial  t»;rraces,  turned  to  profitable 
account.  Every  little  bit  of  S(»ii,  though  it  be  only  a  few  feet  in  length  and  breadth  is 
turned  to  account ;  and  not  only  is  the  surface  of  the  land  thus  cared  for,  but  every  device 
is  employed  for  the  gatlieriug  together  of  every  article  that  can  serse  fev  inanure.  *  * 
*  *  The  multitudes  of  pers<ins  who  live  by  the  fisheries  in  China,  afford  evi.ience  not 
only  that  the  land  is  cultivated  to  tlie  greatest  possible  ext-nt.  but  thijf  it  is  insufficient  to 
supply  the  necessities  of  the  overfltnving  poiiulation;  for  agricultu-.e  is  held  in  high  honor 
in  Cliina,  and  the  husbandman  stands  next  in  rank  to  the  sage  or  the  literary  man  in  the 
social  hierarchy.  It  has  been  supposed  that  nearly  a  tenth  of  the  population  derive  thei^ 
means  of  support  from  fisheries. 


32 

This  statement  of  Sir  John  Bowring  makes  the  fact  quite  clear 
that  China  cannot  increase  her  growth  of  cotton,  and  that  now  that 
she  has  permitted  herself  to  be  drained  of  the  raw  material,  she 
must  necessarily  resume  her  position  as  an  importer  of  cotton  from 
India.  If  cotton  could  be  grown  upon  the  water,  China  might  in- 
crease her  yield,  but  the  laws  of  nature  will  not  be  set  aside  to 
oblige  the  Lancashire  luill  owners. 

The  importations  of  cotton  from  China  into  England,  were  in  1862 
4,415  bales,  and  in  1863,  equal  to  77,140  bales  of  400  pounds  each. 
In  1864,  the  quantity  was  somewhat  larger ;  but  in  1865  it  is  not 
probable  there  will  be  any  receipts  from  that  source. 

Japan,  like  China,  is  an  overpopulated  country,  and  holds  the 
same  position  in  respect  to  cotton.  Yet  she,  for  similar  reasons,  was 
enabled  to  send  to  England,  in  1863,  1,779  bales  of  400  pounds  each, 
and  in  1864,  an  increase  on  that  quantity.  It  is  hardly  possible  that 
she  can  spare  any  cotton  in  1865. 

Turkey,  both  in  Kuro[>e  and  in  Asia,  has  made  great  efforts  to 
augment  her  yield  of  cotton.  She  sent  to  England,  in  1858,  28 
bales  of  400  pounds  each;  in  1859,  994  bales;  in  1860,  31  bales; 
1861,  177  bales;  1862,  11,539  bales;  1863,  30,882  bales.  In  1864, 
the  quantity  recorded  by  the  British  returns  to  the  credit  of  Turkey 
will  be  much  less  than  in  ]  863,  owing  partly  to  the  fact  that  France 
received  a  portion  of  the  sup}.4ies  from  that  countiy,  and  partly  to 
the  fact  that  the  shipments  of  1S63  consisted  in  a  great  measure  of 
old  stocks  of  cotton.  One  ol  the  British  Consuls  in  Turkey  thus 
writes,  under  date  of  December  31,  1S62:  ^ 

The  cotton  grown  here  is  of  ji  very  inferior  quality,  and  has  never  been  found  good 
enough  for  the  nianui'acture  of  twist,  the  staple  being  too  short.  The  amount  exported  to 
France  and  Italy  was  chiefly  used  for  njaking  wicks  and  stuffing  furniture.  In  the  present 
.scarcity  in  Europe,  how<'Ver,  luanufactuvei-s  were  driven  to  make  use  of  it,  mixed  with 
other  better  qualities.  This  caused  a  sudden  demand  for  it  in  France,  and  all  that  existed 
in  the  market  Avas  bought  up  immediately,  at  double  prires.  The  demand  still  continuing 
after  the  stock  of  the  year's  produce  had  been  bought  up.  the  old  cotton,  that  had  for  many 
years  served  for  stufhug  niattres.scs,  pillows  and  divans,  was  brought  to  the  market,  and 
disposed  of  at  high  prices. 

The  cultivation  of  cotton  in  the  West  India  Islands  and  adjacent 
countries  does  not  increase.  A  report  made  by  the  committeehof  the 
Cotton  Supply  Association  gives  the  follovving  excuses  for  the  snjall 
production  :  "  Barbadoes  cannot  produce  any  large  quantity  of  cotton 
without  throwing  sugar  out  of  cultivation."  "The  commissioner 
from  British  Guiana  dots  not  liold  out  much  hope  of  an  extensive 
revival  of  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  that  territory,  unless  English 
capitalists  will  undertake  to  hnd  the  means  of  developing  the  latent 
resources  of  the  country.  At  present,  however,  sugar  otters  greater 
inducements.  Chinese  laborers  might  be  introduced  with  great 
advantage."  "  Costa  Rica  sends  samples  of  wild  cotton,  of  good 
useful  quality-,  but  they  cannot  be  considered  more  than  botanical 
specimens."  "Ecuador  sends  four  or  five  samples  of  very  good, 
clean  cotton,  but  at  present  tlia  quantity  cultivated  is  too  small  to  be 
of  much  benefit."  In  Martinique,  "  it  is  said  that  the  culture  there 
will  never  be  considerable."  Guadaloupe  is  pretty  much  in  the 
same  condition.     "  Cotton  has  been  cultivated  in  French  Guiana  for 


33 

many  years,  but  the  want  of  labor,  and  the  more  remunerative  prices 
for  other  products,  have  depressed  its  cultivation."  In  Hayti,  "the 
land  available  is  sufficient  to  grow  3,000,000  bales  a  year,  but  there 
would  be  a  deficiency  of  labor."  Jamaica  presents  the  sjniie  excuse 
for  her  shortcomings  as  to  the  supply  of  cotton.  Trinidad  is  not 
"  likely"  to  send  "any  great  quantity,"  "  unless  Engii>h  <  iier^y  and 
capital  are  employed."  Uraguay  furnishes  a  few  "  }»un*ly  experi- 
mental samples,  but  they  are  evidence  that  good  cotton  gmws  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  great  rivers  of  South  An^erica ;  and  the  mcichants  of 
Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres  ought  to  encourage  and  develop  the 
production  of  this  cotton."  Venezuela  grows  a  few  hunih-ed  bales 
of  cotton  ;  and  the  best  that  can  be  said  for  her,  is  that  "  it  is  'jirobn- 
bin  that  the  increase  in  cultivation  will  be  larger;"  but  tht-  "proba- 
bility" has  not  bcjen  realized.  8t.  Christopher  exported  in  1803  but 
5  or  6  bales  of  400  pounds  each  ;  Antigua,  only  18  bales;  8t.  Lucia, 
3  bales ;  St.  Vincent,  178  bales ;  Tobago,  8  bales.  There  is  very 
little  cotton  grown  in  Cuba  and  the  other  Spanish  islands;  what  is 
produced  in  them  is  nearly  all  sent  to  the  mother  country. 

Peru  in  1863  exported  to  England  about  4()  bales  of  4!!0  pounds 
each,  and  a  similar  quantity  to  France.  Peru  has  distinguished  her- 
self more  for  the  age,  than  for  the  quantity  ot  her  cotton.  She  con- 
tributed to  the  International  Exhibition  of  1862,  a  fleece  of  cotton 
weighing  about  40  pounds,  which  had  been  found  in  a  tomb  in  one 
of  the  ancient  ruins  of  a  city  which  existed  before  the  Spaniaids 
invaded  the  country.  The  cotton  was  of  good  staple  and  strong, 
although  over  300  years  old. 

The  whole  of  Africa,  excepting  the  Cape  of  Grood  Hope,  contri- 
buted only  321  bales  of  400  pounds  each  in  1863.  The  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  is  credited  with  9,476  bales  of  400  pounds  each  in  the 
same  year,  but  it  is  likely  that  a  large  share  of  that  quantity  was 
of  East  India  growth,  reshipped  from  thence. 

Australia  makes  a  very  poor  show — Victoria,  New  South  Wales 
and  Queensland  combined  furnished  to  the  morhnr  country  in  I8()3 
but  71  bales  of  400  pounds  each  The  commissioner  from  Queens- 
land to  the  International  Exhibition  feared  that  cotton  grown  in  that 
country  would  "not  pay  for  the  cost  of  lan<I  and  labor."  A  Queens- 
land correspondent  of  the  London  Times  writes: 

I'rider  certain  regulations,  we  are,  it  is  true,  permitteil  t->  import  l.ibor  from  India,  but 
Coolie  wages  are  n«'vv  so  dear,  and  Cooli«'  pliysiquf  sn  deficient,  tliar  at.  best  that  cIhss  of 
lab-'r  is  expensive.  Havintr  personally  empl.tved  luiili  l.'otdies  and  Africans,  I  slmuld,  tor 
most  eniplo3-nients.  pn-^'er  the  latter,  at  dotil)le  rlie  wages  of  the  furnn-r  Why  again,  tlicn, 
is  it  that  otn-  government  forbids  the  impdrfation  of  the  African  tn  our  Col  nifs? 

Queensland  gave  but  45  bales  of  cotton  of  3'iM)  y)ounds  each,  not- 
wiihstanding  the  governor  of  tht-  <'o  =  ony,  as  fnr  back  as  the  ejirly 
part  of  18Gl,en(li'avored  to  enconrng^'  its  giowth  by  a  bonus  of  £  10 
on  each  bale  of  that  weiglit  nf  Se.t  Ishind,  nnd  <£•')  on  every  bale  of 
Otli<')'  description  of  cotroii  growti  there.  Tiie  bijunty,  hovvev(*r,  vsas 
to  be  in  operation  but  thret^  ye.irs. 

Sp;iin  forwai-ded  about  3'sO  b;i!es  of  4  ><>  pounds  e;ich  of  cotton  to 
England  in  1803.  Mnlta,  952  bah  s,  and  Greece,  804  bales.  Thes© 
6 


34 

countries  have  always  produced  a  little  cotton  for  their  own  use.  So 
has  Italy.  She  exported  to  England  in  1863,  1,500  bales  of  400 
pounds  each,  and  a  larger  quantity  to  France.  Her  whole  yield,  aug- 
mented under  the  influence  of  high  quotations,  is  estimated  at  40,0<;0 
bales.  Notwithstanding  the  fostering  care  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, and  the  large  premiums  offered  for  the  cultivation  of  cotton, 
the  quantity  produced  in  Algeria  is  said  to  not  exceed  5,000  bales. 

There  has  been  very  little  increase  in  the  production  of  wool,  flax, 
silks  and  other  textile  materials.  An  erroneous  belief  exists  in  the 
piiblic  mind  in  reference  to  this  subject.  It  is  generally  thought  that 
the  importations  of  those  materials  into  England  have  been  enormous, 
and  that  they,  since  the  establishment  of  the  blockade,  have  made 
up  for  the  deficiency  in  the  cotton  supply.  This  is  not  the  case. 
They  have  only  assisted  to  a  very  slight  degree.  The  increase  in 
the  receipts  is  trifling,  in  comparison  with  the  falling  off  in  the  im- 
ports of  cotton.     Here  are  the  particulars  of  import  : 

Flax,  Dressed  and  Undressed. 


1858, 

. 

143,797,360  pounds. 

1859, 

. 

160,388,144  " 

1860, 

- 

164,058,720   " 

1861, 

- 

149,372,048   " 

1862, 

_ 

201,415,202   " 

1863, 

Wool. 

163,037,744   *' 

1858, 

_ 

126,738,723  pounds. 

1859, 

- 

133,284,634   " 

1860, 

- 

148,396,577   " 

1861, 

- 

147,172,841   " 

1862, 

. 

171,943,472   " 

1863, 

- 

177,377,664   " 

Hemp,  Dressed  and 

Undressed. 

1858, 

. 

99,302,672  pounds. 

1859, 

- 

118,621,328   " 

1860, 

- 

86,019,696   '• 

1861, 

- 

86,187,760   " 

1862, 

- 

102,570,384   " 

.1863, 

Silk. 

119,606,256   " 

1858, 

6,635,845  pounds. 

1859, 

10,318,353   " 

1860, 

9,402,982   " 

1861, 

8,835,255   " 

1862, 

10,434,350   " 

1863, 

JuU. 

9,280,528   " 

1858, 

. 

82,665,520  pounds 

1859, 

118,864,160   " 

1860, 

91,480,146   " 

1861, 

101,258,304   " 

1862, 

107,942,688   " 

1863« 

- 

.   136,979,696   " 

35 


Estimate  of  Stock  of  Raw  Cotton  and  Cotton  Goods  at  the  consuming  points,  reduced  to 

Bales  of  400  pounds  each. 

September  1,  1861,  on  hand,  equal  to  bales,  -  -  -       13,500,000 

Usual  receipts  from  other  cowutries  for  three  years  (1862,  1863  and  1864),      -        4,500,000 

Extra  growth  of  other  countries : 
1862,  -  -  .  .  .  50,000 

18G3,  .....        200,000 

1864,  .....        :i50.000 


600,000 

Southern  States  contributed  in  three  years  (to  summer  of  1>64),  -  7ui»,U'(j 

19,30(',0('0 
Actual  consumption  from  September  1,  1861,  to  September  1,  1864,  -       14,300,000 

Less  by  8,500,000  baits  than  in  1861,  or  -  -  -        5,000,000 

Estimate  for  1865. 

Contributions  from  other  countries,  -  -  -      1,200,000 

Contributions  from  Confederacy,  ...        300,000 

1,500,000 

6,500.0(tO 
Consumption  September  1,  1864,  to  September  1,  1865,  -  -        5,00i),0!.:0 

At  consuming  points  September  1,  1865,  bales,  -  -  -        1,500,000 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  statement  that  the  stock  of  raw  cotton  and 
cotton  goods  at  the  consuming  points,  was,  on  September  1st,  ISGl, 
equal  to  13,500,000  bales  of  400  lbs.  each;  that  on  September  1,  1S64, 
the  stock  had  been  reduced  to  equivalent  to  5,000,000  bales;  and 
that  the  stock,  on  September  1,  1805,  will  be  further  reduced  to 
1,500,000  bales.  A  very  small  quantity  indeed  of  cotton  and  cotton 
goods ! 

It  is  quite  manifest  that  the  cotton  famine  will  be  reached  some 
time  during  the  coming  year.  It  has  only  been  staved  oft'  by  the 
steady  arrivals  of  4  to  5,000  bales  per  week  of  American  cotton  in 
England,  and  that  which  has  been  received  in  the  Federal  States. 
While  legislation  on  the  subject  would  have  been  of  little  avail 
early  in  the  conflict,  when  the  stocks  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods 
were  so  large  at  the  consuming  points,  a  prohibition  of  its  exporta- 
tion from  the  Confederacy  now  cannot  help  but  act  as  a  great  politi- 
cal lever  to  draw  justice  from  the  "neutral"  powers  of  Europe. 
200,000  to  300,000  bales  of  American  cotton,  more  or  less,  would 
hardly,  in  ordinary  times,  make  an  appreciable  difference  in  value, 
but  at  the  present  period  that  quantity  becomes  of  great  moment  to 
the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  world,  as  it  enables  the  use  of  the 
inferior  sorts  to  tive  or  six  times  the  anion nt.  This  paper,  it  is 
hoped,  will  fully  explain  the  reason  why  the  cotton  famine  has  been 
postponed,  and  demonstrate  that  the  increase  in  production  in  other 
countries  has  been  trifling  indeed,  notwithstanding  the  great  stimulus 
of  high  prices.  While,  therefore,  it  is  admitted  that  "other  coun- 
tries" have,  under  hot-bed  influences,  grown  350,000  bales  more  cot- 
ton than  in  1860,  that  quantity  seems  insignificant  in  comparison 
with  the  yearly  advance  in  the  cultivation  that  has  taken  place  in  the 
Southern  States  of  America,  even  when  unaided  by  any  additional 


36 

value  to  the  product.     The  increase  in  the  cultivation  in  these  States 
was  as  follows : 

In  1859  over  1858,  .  .  -  823,929  bales,  averaging  450  lbs. 

In  1859  over  1857,  -  -  -  1,561.808       " 

In  1859  over  1856,  -  -  -  1,736,251       " 

People  generally  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  have  been  deceived 
as  to  the  production  of  cotton  in  other  countries,  owing  to  the  extra 
importations  the  last  three  years.  The  chief  por:ion  of  these  im- 
portations consisted  of  old  stocks  of  cotton,  much  of  which  had 
acrujilly  been  used  for  household  purposes.  While  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Eastern  countries  were  emptying  their  beds,  mattresses,  divans, 
saddles,  etc.  of  raw  cotton,  the  citizens  of  the  Confederacy  were 
parting  with  their  blankets,  and  other  woolen  fabrics,  in  order  to  sup- 
ply the  army.  It  is  likely,  too,  that  in  the  Northern  States  much  of 
the  cotton  that  had  entered  into  consumption  has  again  been  placed 
upon  the  wheels  of  eommerce.  It  will  be  remembered  that  one  of 
the  passengers  on  board  the  ill-fated  steamer  Lexington,  burned  on 
Long  Island  Sound  in  1840,  saved  himself  by  floating  on  a  bale  of 
cotton,  which  he  afterwards  converted  into  an  "ottoman."  The 
value  of  the  cotton  became  so  great  recently,  that  the  owner  has 
been  tempted  to  part  with  it.  This  incident  exemplifies  the  present 
position  of  the  commerce  in  cotton. 

Viewing,  then,  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  cotton 
trade,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  demand  for  that  material  upon  the 
recurrence  of  peace,  will  be  greater  than  previous  to  the  war.  All 
the  channels  that  have  been  drained  of  the  staple  will  have  to  be 
filled  up,  and  an  nnprecedented  call  will  be  made  upon  these  States 
to  furnish  cotton  material  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  This  war  has 
greatly  deranged  the  course  of  commerce  and  finance.  That  derange- 
ment, however,  has  hardly  been  felt  by  those  not  immediately  en- 
gaged in  the  conflict.  But  the  time  is  coming  when,  for  the  happiness 
and  comfort  of  future  generations,  the  statesmen  of  the  day  will 
find  it  necessary  to  engraft  upon  their  principles  and  conduct  the 
very  highest  and  most  stringent  rules  of  political  economy.  Any  at- 
tempt to  disregard  these  maxims,  the  force  of  which  in  calmer  times 
has  been  acknowledged,  will  end  in  ruin  and  destruction,  and  dis- 
comfort not  only  to  our  neighbors,  remote  as  well  as  immediate,  but  to 
ourselves. 

Previous  to  the  American  war,  the  British  House  of  Commons 
frequently  expressed  great  concern  about  the  cotton  supply,  fearing 
that,  at  some  future  period,  there  would  be  an  insurrection  among 
the  slaves  in  the  South,  and  that  cotton  cultivation  would  therefore 
be  suspended.  Every  few  years  there  was  a  committee  appointed 
by  that  body  to  investigate  the  subject.  Strange  to  say,  however, 
that  since  the  year  1858  the  matter  has  been  dropped,  and  many,  if 
not  the  majority  of  Englishmen,  are  now  laboring  under  the  delusion 
that  their  country  has  become  independent  of  these  States  for  a  sup- 
ply of  that  material.  The  very  last  official  publication — the  report 
of  the  "  Commissioners  of  Her  Majesty's  Customs,"  before  alluded 
to — says : 


37 

The  increase,  however,  in  the  quantities  of  cotton  imported  from  other  countries  than  the 
United  States,  is  nearly  1,400,000  cwts.,  viz:  from  4,551,581  cwts.  to  5,921,332  cwts. 
From  this  must  be  deducted  the  quantity  received  from  the  Bahamas  and  from  our  North 
American  Provinces,  which  has  been  almost  entirely  the  produce  of  the  Southern  States, 
conveyed  to  us  indirectly  through  those  countries.  But  even  after  this  deduction  is  made, 
the  result  is  very  satisfactory,  as  showing  the  great  and  successful  eflforts  that  have  been 
made  to  render  this  country  independent,  for  the  future,  of  the  supply  on  which  she  for- 
merly entirely  relied. 

The  Commissioners  seem  to  overlook  the  fact,  that  the  cotton 
which  was  received  from  the  Bermudas,  Mexico,  Cuba,  &c.,  was  all 
of  southern  growth ;  and  they  make  no  allowance  either  for  the  old 
stocks  of  all  the  eastern  countries,  or  for  the  contents  of  beds,  pillow 
cases,  saddles,  divans,  &c.  that  have  been  placed  in  bales,  and  re- 
sumed the  character  of  merchandise.  The  prediction  of  the  Connnis- 
sioners  that  England  would  become  "independent"  of  the  Southern 
States  for  her  cotton  supply,  might,  in  a  measure,  prove  to  be  cor- 
rect, if  the  "  fragments"  of  all  the  old  stocks  of  raw  cotton,  and  that 
which  had  been  used  for  household  purposes,  were  "  gathered  up,  so 
that  nothing  might  be  lost,"  and  that  those  *'  fragments"  could  be 
made  to  perform  the  miracle  of  the  "  loaves  and  fishes."  But  as 
cotton  will  not  grow  without  being  planted  and  cultivated,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  England  must  again  bow  down  to  the  commercial 
monarch. 

The  writer  of  this  paper  believes  that  there  is  more  than  sufficient 
negro  labor  in  these  States  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  world  with 
cotton.  Should  his  views  in  this  respect  be  incorrect,  he  can  see  no 
objection  to  importing  as  many  Africans  as  may  be  required  for  the 
purpose,  taking  them  from  barbarism  and  placing  them  in  good  and 
comfortable  homes.  Under  any  circumstances,  he  would  not,  were 
he  a  legislator,  consent  to  make  treaties  with  other  powers  for  the 
suppression  of  the  African  slave  trade,  unless  those  other  powers 
would  agree  at  the  same  time  to  abandon  the  Coolie  trade,  which  is, 
practically,    the  same  kind  of  commerce. 

The  "  horrors"  of  the  African  slave  trade  were  never  inaugurated 
until  that  trade  ceased  to  be  profitable.  It  was  then  that  the  vessels 
were  over-crowded  with  passengers ;  and  the  same  system  has  been 
continued,  in  an  aggravated  degree,  since  rhe  trade  was  made  illegal. 
There  is  no  reason  why  colored  passengers  should  not  be  transported 
across  the  seas  just  as  decently  as  Irish,  German  or  Chinese  passen- 
gers. The  writer  does  not  mean  by  these  remarks  to  advocate  the 
reopening  of  the  African  slave  trade.  He,  as  just  stated,  believes 
there  is  still  left  in  the  South  an  abundance  of  negro  labor.  If  such 
be  the  case,  it  would  be  quite  as  absurd  to  import  into  the  Confede- 
racy Africans  from  Africa  as  it  would  be  to  introduce  into  Ireland, 
•among  her  over-crowded  peasantry,  Germans  from  Germany. 

The  British  people  understand  this  question  of  labor  thoroughly — 
they  have  bought  their  experience.  They  see  the  blunder  they  made 
in  emancipating  the  negroes  in  the  West  India  Islands.  In  the 
House  of  Lords,  on  May  28,  1861,  it  was  stated  by  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  in  answer  to  Lord  Brougham,  that  the  government  did  not 
intend  to  stimulate  the  production  of  cotton  in  the  colonies  by  boun- 
ties or  any  direct  remuneration,  but  that  more  energetic  measures 


38 

would  be  taken  to  promote  the  emigration  of  Coolies,  in  order  to 
supply  the  want  of  labor  in  the  West  Indies  and  other  colonial  coun- 
tries. 

The  remarks  in  this  paper,  so  far,  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  the 
course  of  the  commerce  in  cotton  with  the  producing  countries,  and 
to  the  state  of  the  British  cotton  trade  and  cotton  manufactures. 
Incidental  allusion  has  likewise  been  made  to  the  positions  of  the 
cotton  interest  in  some  of  the  other  manufacturing  countries.  A  fur- 
ther explanation  of  this  last  named  branch  of  the  cotton  question 
may  not  be  out  of  place  at  this  juncture — the  eve,  to  all  appear- 
ances, of  a  cotton  crisis. 

France  quite  as  early  as  England  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  into  textile  fabrics.  Both  countries,  until  the  improvements 
in  spinning  machinery  were  invented,  mixed  the  staple  with  wool  or 
flax.  France,  however,  failed  to  keep  pace  with  England,  though 
her  government  from  the  time  of  Colbert,  the  first  minister  under 
Louis  XIV,  tried,  by  a  system  of  protection,  to  foster  that  species  of 
industry.  With  a  few  trifling  exceptions,  of  which  the  cotton  lace  of 
Belgium  is  the  only  one  worthy  of  notice,  foreign  cotton  goods  were 
not  admitted  into  France  between  the  peace  of  1S15  and  the  Cob- 
den  treaty  of  1860.  Not  content  with  the  prohibition  so  greatly  in 
their  favor,  her  manufacturers  have  received  a  bounty  of  25  francs 
per  100  kilogrammes  of  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods  exported. 
The  duty  most  extensively  operative — -that  on  American  cotton — is 
20  francs  per  100  kilogrammes ;  the  bounty,  therefore,  is  somewhat 
greater  than  the  duty,  even  after  allowing  for  the  loss  in  weight  by 
spinning.  The  cotton  from  British  India,  or  Indian  cotton  from 
British  entrepots,  is  now,  by  the  above  named  treaty,  free  of  duty. 

Under  the  pampering  system  of  protection  and  monopoly,  which 
for  a  time  gave  large  profits,  the  number  of  cotton  mills  in  France 
increased  during  the  years  1825,  1826  and  1827,  with  such  rapidity 
as  to  augment  the  supply  of  goods  greatly  in  excess  of  the  de- 
mand. A  heavy  decline  in  the  value  of  the  fabrics  was  the  result. 
Many  of  the  mill  owners  were  ruined ;  many  factories  were  conse- 
quently closed,  and  the  credit  of  those  spinners  and  manufacturers, 
who  managed  to  weather  the  financial  storm,  was  much  impaired. 
The  operatives,  as  remarked  some  pages  back,  were  thrown  out  of 
employment,  just  as  has  been  the  case  with  those  of  Lancashire  the 
past  four  years.  By  the  end  of  1829  the  equilibrium  between  supply 
and  consumption  became  nearly  restored,  when  the  mills  began  to 
resume  their  former  activity.  This  gleam  of  prosperity  was,  how- 
ever, soon  clouded  by  political  disorders,  that  culminated  in  the 
Revolution  of  July  1830.  Then  followed  the  cholera,  which  com-* 
mitted  great  ravages  among  the  working  population — retarding  the 
prosperity  of  the  country.  And  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1S33 
that  the  manufacturing  business  of  France  resumed  a  steady  basis. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  British  House  of  Commons  had  appointed  a 
committee  to  enquire  into  the  silk  trade.  In  the  report  of  that  com- 
mittee, dated  June  22,  1832,  will  be  found  the  following  testimony 
of  Dr.  Bowring,  who  had  been  sent  to  France  to  examine  into  the 


39 

subject  juat  as  the  French  have  from  time  to  time  dispatched  persons 
to  England  to  enquire  into  the  cotton  trade.  The  Doctor  was  like- 
wise called  upon  to  give  information  in  reference  to  the  cotton  manu- 
factures of  France.     He  said : 

While,  according  to  the  best  calculation,  7,000,000  of  spindles  are  employed  in  Eng- 
land to  manufacture  more  tbau  240,000,000  pounds  of  cotton,  in  France,  according  to  the 
return  of  the  Commission  which  reported  on  the  cotton  trade,  3,200,000  spindles  arc  em- 
ployed to  manufacture  66,000, OuO  pounds ;  so  that  where  the  protected  French  manufacturer 
produces  only  66,000,000  pounds,  the  unprotected  English  manufacturer  would,  with  the 
same  number  of  spindles,  produce  nearly  110,000,000  pounds;  or  if  the  English  manufac- 
turer produced  at  the  same  rate  as  the  French,  instead  of  240,000,000  pounds,  he  would  pro- 
duce only  144,000,000  pounds.  In  England  it  is  estimated,  according  to  the  Parliamentary 
returns,  that  700,000  persons  are  engaged  in  the  different  branches  of  the  cotton  manu- 
facture, and  they  produce  nearly  four  times  the  quantity  which  is  rendered  in  France  by 
550,000  persons,  according  to  the  returns  of  the  French  Commission :  that  protection  has 
thus  led  to  the  waste  of  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  whole  amount  of  labor  employed  on 
the  protected  articles.  The  French  cotton  manufacturers  have  had  the  benefit  of  this  pro- 
hibiting system  ever  since  the  peace,  and,  according  to  the  statement  made  by  their  Com- 
mission, it  cost  the  country  47,000,000  francs  per  annum  beyond  the  sum  at  which  the  same 
articles  might  be  imported  from  England.  This  is  the  result  of  eighteen  years'  protection, 
yet  the  testimony  of  the  French  manufacturers  is  that  the  very  existence  of  their  business 
is  rendered  doubtful  from  year  to  year.     P.  586. 

I  think  that  in  almost  all  the  articles  of  taste  and  fashion,  the  French  possess  a  superiority 
of  between  30  and  40  per  cent.  I  think  the  English  have  a  greater  superiority  than  this  in 
trade  manufactures,  snch  as  cotton,  where  mechanical  aptitude  is  brought  t.)  bear.     P.  59;>. 

I  have  had  evidence  enough  to  satisfy  me,  in  the  peculiar  position  in  which  I  was  placed, 
that  at  the  present  moment  the  importation  of  cotton  twist  (by  smuggling)  is  from  15,000,000 
francs  to  20,000,000  francs.  I  can  also  speak,  from  my  own  personal  knowledge,  of  the 
large  clandestine  importations  of  cotton  twist  from  Switzerland  into  France.     P.  593. 

At  this  moment,  of  the  capital  invested  in  the  production  of  cotton  twist,  I  may  state 
that  the  gn^at  proportion  is  absolutely  lost,  and  the  loss  of  the  rest  is  inevitable.  I  have 
bad  occasion  to  examine  the  operation  of  the  protective  system  upon  a  very  wide  scale,  and 
I  state,  as  a  general  result,  on  the  details  of  which  I  should  be  able  to  give  evidence  to 
satisfy  honorable  members,  that  the  protective  system  has  wholly  failed  in  accomplishing 
any  one  object  for  which  it  was  intended.  Wherever  there  are  unfavorable  circumstances, 
such  as  now  connected  with  the  cotton  twist  trade  in  France,  they  cannot  successfully  be 
subdued  by  protection.  I  am  satisfied  that  no  industry  can  or  will  succeed  that  is  not  of 
natural  growth ;  that  all  attempts  to  force  industry  have  been  fatal  and  ruinous  to  the 
nations  that  have  made  the  attempt. 

If  I  had  expected  that  the  general  state  of  manufactures  in  France  would  have  been  gone 
into,  I  would  have  brought  some  information  which  would  show  that  the  situation  of  the 
cotton  manufacture  is  discouraging  in  the  extreme ;  the  expressions  of  distress  which  have 
emanated  thence  are  stronger  than  have  ever  been  heard  even  in  this  country.  I  have  now 
found  among  my  papers  an  address  to  the  King,  presented  in  the  present  year  from  Mul- 
hausen,  the  seat  of  one  of  the  largest  manufactures  in  France,  the  first  sentence  of  which 
is,  "  our  looms  are  wholly  abandoned,  and  our  laborers  without  food."  The  whole  number 
of  looms  in  the  district  du  Nord  was  stated  by  Chaptal  at  10,000:  now,  as  evidence  of  the 
prosperity  of  that  district,  I  will  mention  that  in  March  last  the  cotton  manui'actory  of  Rou- 
val-'esDoullens.  established  only  four  years  ago  by  a  well  known  individual  (who  came  to 
England  and  visited  our  most  approved  establishments),  at  a  cost  of  1,400,000  francs,  was 
sold  f(U-  308,000  francs ;  there  was  a  sacrifice,  therefore,  of  between  70  and  80  per  cent,  of 
the  whole  invested  capital. 

Thus  the  absurdity  of  protection  to  domestic  manufactures  is  fully 
exposed.  Yet  France  persisted  in  the  same  practice  ;  and  it  is  only 
since  the  adoption  of  the  wise  commercial  measures  of  1860,  under 
the  treaty  twice  before  referred  to,  that  she  has  shown  any  intention 
of  altering  her  system. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  the  exception  of  the  parliamentary  re- 
strictions of  1700,  against  the  importation  of  Indian  silks  and  printed 
calicoes,  either  for  apparel  or  furniture — which  were  enacted  at  the 
instance  of  her  woolen  interest — England  has  never  given  any  pro- 
tection whatever  to  her  cotton  manufactures.  In  fact,  an  opposite 
policy  has  been  pursued.     No  sooner  were  there  goods  made  exclu- 


40 

sively  of  cotton  in  England  than  the  British  Government  subjected 
them  to  unwise  taxation.  The  first  fabrics  that  were  made  wholly 
of  cotton,  were  manufactured  in  1773.  The  officers  of  excise  refused 
to  let  them  pass  at  the  usual  duty  on  home-made  goods,  of  3  pence 
per  pound,  insisting  upon  an  additional  duty  of  3  pence  per  pound, 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  "Indian"  calicoes,  though  manufac- 
tured in  England ;  and  even  the  printing  of  such  goods  was,  by  an 
old  law,  prohibited.  Parliament  then,  in  1774,  passed  the  following 
act : 

Whereas  a  new  manufacture  of  stuffs,  wholly  made  of  raw  cotton  wool  (chiefly  impor- 
ted from  the  British  plantations),  hath  been  lately  set  up  within  this  Kingdom,  in  which 
manufacture  many  hundreds  of  poor  people  are  employed:  and  whereas  the  use  and  wear 
of  printed  &c.  stuffs  wholly  made  of  cotton  and  manufactured  in  Great  Britain,  ousht  to  he 
allowed  under  proper  regulations :  and  whereas  doubts  have  arisen  whether  the  said  new 
manufactared  stuffs  ought  to  be  considered  as  calicoes,  and  as  such,  if  printed  &c.  liable  to 
the  inland  or  excise  duties  laid  on  calicoes  when  printed  by  the  existing  statutes,  whether 
the  use  or  wearing  of  the  said  new  manufactured  stuffs,  when  the  same  are  printed  &c. 
are  not  prohibited  by  an  act  passed  7  Geo  II,  intituled,  an  act  to  preserve  and  encourage 
the  woolen  and  silk  manufactures  of  this  Kingdom,  and  for  more  effectually  employing  the 
poor,  by  prohibiting  the  use,  and  wear,  of  all  primed  &c.  calicoes  in  apparel,  household 
stuffs,  furniture,  or  otherwise,  after  the  2r)th  of  December  172'2.  For  obviating  ail  such 
doubts  for  the  future,  be  it  enacted  that  no  greater  or  higher  duty  than  three  pence  for  every 
yard  in  length,  reckoning  yard  wide,  shall  be  imposed  on  the  said  manufactured  stuffs 
wholly  made  of  cotton  spun  in  Great  Britain  when  printed. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  wear  any  new  manu- 
factured stuffs  wholly  made  of  cotton  when  printed. 

Mr.  Pitt  in  1784  imposed  additional  taxes  on  the  manufacture  of 
printed  calicoes.  The  troubles  of  a  cotton  mill  owner,  in  those  days, 
w^ere  not  confined  to  the  visits  of  the  excisemen.  The  operatives 
though  fully  employed,  feared  that  machinery  would  eventually,  by 
continued  improvements,  perform  all  the  labor;  and  much  ruffianly 
violence  was  practiced  by  them.  The  upper  classes  fomented  these 
anti-factory  outrages,  from  an  apprehension  that  the  multiplication 
of  machinery  would  throw  a  number  of  irlle  hands  upon  the  parish 
funds.  Subsequently,  the  manufacturers  were  persecuted  with  a  se- 
ries of  imposts,  in  twelve  successive  rates,  all  tending  to  throw  the 
balance  in  favor  of  their  foreign  rivals  in  that  industry.  In  1798, 
an  import  duty  was  levied  on  raw  cotton  from  the  Brazils,  of  12s.  6d. 
per  100  lbs.;  from  the  West  Indies,  of  8s.  9d.;  from  the  Southern 
States,  of  6s.  6d.;  and  from  the  Etist  Indies,  of  4  per  cent,  ad  valo- 
rem. In  1803,  an  uniform  duty  of  16s.  Sd.  per  100  lbs.  was  fixed 
for  all  cotton  except  Brazilian,  which  was  chargeable  with  25s.  per 
100  lbs.  The  duties  were  afterwards  occasionally  altered  until  18  L5, 
when  8s.  6d.  per  100  lbs.  was  imposed  upon  the  growth  of  all  coun- 
tries. Some  further  changes  were  made,  favorable  to  East  India  cot- 
ton, from  that  date  until  1833,  when  the  rate  was  established  at  4d. 
per  112  lbs.  on  the  production  of  the  Biitish  possessions,  and  2s.  1  Id. 
on  the  yield  of  foreign  countries.  The  inland  taxes  on  the  luaiuii'ac- 
tures  of  cotton  goods  were  continued,  with  a  partial  interniission, 
until  18  Jl,  wdien  they  were  taken  off".  Excepting  the  general  increase 
of  5  per  cent,  on  nearly  all  custom  duties  in  May  1810,  the  tarilK  of 
1S33  remained  unchanged  until  March  184-3,  when  cotton  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  United  Kingdom  from  all   countries,  free  from  any 


41 

duty.     From  1825  to  1845  the  differential  duty  in  favor  of  East  India 
cotton  was  very  considerable. 

While  it  is  clear  that  import  duties  on  raw  produce^  as  a  gene- 
ral rule,  must  necessarily  come  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  pro- 
ducers, the  import  tax  thus  placed  by  the  Government  of  Great 
Britain  upon  the  importation  of  cotton  worked  to  the  great  injury 
of  her  spinners  and  manufacturers,  inasmuch  as  she  re-exported,  in 
yarns  and  goods,  three-fourths  the  cotton  she  imported  in  the  raw 
state.  The  manufacturers  of  other  countries — France  among  the 
number — whose  governments  either  admitted  cotton  free  of  duty,  or 
relieved  them  of  that  charge,  by  the  payment  of  a  bounty  on  all  the 
cotton  fabrics  exported,  possessed  an  advantage  over  those  of  Eng- 
land. An  import  tax  on  raw  materials  contained  in  such  manufac- 
tures as  are  consumed  within  a  country,  is,  in  reality,  harmless,  be- 
cause that  tax  is  indirectly  paid  by  the  planter.  It  is  an  item 
against  him  in  the  account  sales  of  his  produce.  But  in  all 
cases  where  goods  are  made  to  be  exported  to  foreign  markets,  the 
duty  operates  to  the  detriment  of  the  manufacturer,  in  consequence 
of  its  being  equivalent  to  a  bounty,  to  the  full  amount,  whatever  it 
may  be,  to  the  manufacturers  of  other  countries.  It  is  strange  that 
the  statesmen  of  England  were  so  long  opening  their  eyes  to  this 
glaring  fact.  The  heaviest  duties  on  raw  cotton  existed  during  the 
infancy  of  the  British  cotton  manufactures,  and  the  highest  rates 
were  generally  on  American,  the  kind  chiefly  consumed  by  the  mills, 
and  re-exported  in  the  manufactured  state  to  foreign  markets.  Ex- 
port duties  on  all  raw  materials  also  indirectly  come  out  of  the 
pockets  of  the  planter,  and  likewise  act  as  a  bounty  to  the  manu- 
facturer, at  the  place  of  production.  [The  writer  has  discussed  this 
subject  of  export  duties  at  considerable  length  in  another  paper.  It 
is  a  topic  that  seems  to  have  been  in  a  great  measure  neglected  by 
Adam  Smith  and  all  his  imitators  and  followers.] 

No  enliglitencd  government,  except  England,  has  ever  laid  a  tax 
upon  the  importation  of  raw  cotton,  that  has  not  been  countervailed 
by  a  drawback  equal  in  amount,  upon  its  exportation  in  the  manu- 
factured condition.  She  always,  however,  permitted  raw  cotton  to 
be  reshipped  without  paying  duty. 

Against  these  heavy  odds,  England  has  prospered  in  her  cotton 
manufactures,  and  completely  outdistanced  France.  England,  to  be 
sure,  has  had  the  advantage  of  cheaper  coal  and  iron,  but  she  has  not 
had  the  exclusive  benefit,  as  is  supposed,  of  her  improvements  in 
machinery.  No  sooner  was  an  invention  perfected,  than  it  found  its 
way  to  France,  oftentimes  through  the  meshes  of  the  most  stringent 
interdiction,  and  severest  penalties.  Nor  has  England  been  enabled 
to  purchase  her  raw  materials  on  better  terms  than  France.  Both 
countries  have,  since  the  trade  assumed  magnitude,  depended  on 
the  ;Southern  States  as  the  chief  source  of  supply.  France  had  a 
^monopoly  of  the  Louisiana  cotton  trade,  when  that  country  was 
under  iier  own  and  the  doniinion  of  Spain.  At  that  period,  however, 
but  little  cotton  was  cultivated  there.  The  clause  in  the  treaty  of 
6 


42 

purchase,  1803,  excluded  all  foreign  powers,  except  France  and  Spain, 
from  importing  goods  into  the  Louisiana  territory,  "  without  in  any 
way  affecting  the  regulations  that  the  United  States  may  make  con- 
cerning the  exportations  of  the  produce  and  merchandise  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  right  they  may  have  to  make  such  regulations." 
That  provision  which  was  limited  to  twelve  years,  was  probably  in- 
serted in  order  to  avoid  prejudicing  the  interests  of  the  established 
commercial  connections  between  Spain  and  France  and  New  Orleans. 
France  had  some  advantage  over  England  before  tlie  age  of  steam, 
by  her  nearer  proxiuiity  to  the  cotton  growing  countries  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, who  were  tlie  earliest  contributors  of  that  article  to  West- 
ern Europe.  Then  came  the  West  Indies  ;  then,  after  independence, 
the  Southern  States  of  America  ;  then  the  East  Indies.  India,  up  to 
1787,  had  not  exported  a  ,y  raw  cotton  ;  in  that  year  100,000  lbs. 
were  received  from  her  into  England,  through  Ostend.  Her  shipments 
of  cotton  anterior  thereto  were  in  the  manufactured  state.  Southern 
cotton  having  been  cultivated  on  a  larger  scale  simultaneously  with  the 
improvements  in  spinning  machinery,  revolutionized  the  cotton  trade 
of  the  world.  Cotton  has  been  occasionally  grown  in  the  south  of 
France,  in  small  quantities,  since  its  introduction  there  from  Italy 
about  300  years  ago.  Napoleon  in  1807,  appreciating  its  importance, 
endeavored  to  promote  its  culture. 

France  is  the  only  country  in  Europe  that  can,  in  any  sense,  pre- 
tend or  claim  to  compete  with  England  in  respect  to  the  spinning  of 
yarn  and  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  But  when  the  character 
and  development  of  that  industry  in  the  respective  countiies  is 
compared,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that  France,  unlike  England,  offers 
no  extended  market  for  the  produce  of  the  Southern  States.  France 
consumes  annually  within  her  own  borders  about  150,000,000  pounds 
of  cotton  for  clothing  her  people,  while  nearly  double  that  quan- 
tity is  so  used  by  the  people  of  the  British  isles.  The  exports 
of  cotton  manufactures  of  all  kinds  from  France  reach  only  one- 
tenth  the  value  of  those  sent  from  England  to  other  parts.  As  India 
is  the  largest  market  for  the  productions  of  British  cotton  looms,  so 
is  Algeria  the  principal  importer  of  those  of  France.  They  each 
take  about  one-fourth  the  entire  exportations  of  cotton  goods  from 
either  country.  The  French  cotton  goods  sold  in  the  English  and 
American  markets,  owe  their  value  rather  more  to  the  designer  and 
the  dyer  than  to  the  planter  or  weaver.  Their  consumption,  there- 
fore, does  not  admit  of  any  very  rapid  or  wide  increase.  French 
taste  and  French  chemistry,  wherever  they  are  applicable,  have  de- 
servedly won  for  French  textile  fabrics  a  superiority  universally 
recognized. 

The  extent  of  the  cotton  manufactures  of  France  will  be  seen  by 
reference  to  tables  F  and  G.  A  few  particulars  may,  however,  be 
here  introduced.  The  average  quantity  of  raw  cotton  imported  into 
France,  and  retained  for  the  use  of  her  mills  in  the  five  years,  1848 
to  1852,  was  about  132,000,000  pounds.  She  likewise  bought  cot- 
ton yarns,  chiefly  from  England,  to  a  value  of  about  700,000  francs 


43 

per  annum.  In  1853,  her  net  receipts  of  raw  cotton  were  increased 
to  16-5, 000, 000  pounds,  valued  at  125,000,000  francs,  and  her  imports 
of  yarns  were  worth  1,400,000  francs.  The  cotton  goods  exported 
from  France  in  1853  were  cleared  at  a  valuation  of  71,900,000  francs, 
and  her  cotton  yarn  at  866,000  francs.  These  amounts  exhibit  but  a 
slight  increase  on  the  average  of  the  five  previous  years.  The  cotton 
trade  of  France  for  1859, 1860, 1861, 1862  and  186:3^1  figured  as  follows: 

A  Statement  of  the  French  Commerce  in  Raw  Cotton,  1859  to  1863. 


YEARS. 

Importations. 

Export  ations. 

Excess  of 
Imports. 

Net  Value. 

American 
Portion. 

1859, 
1860, 
1861, 
1862, 
1863, 

Lbs. 

201  901  408 
306  675  848 
282  432  832 
101842286 

141580  298 

Lbs. 
22  238146 
34  535  257 
11  022  J  45 
16  413  960 
19  480  813 

Lbs. 
179  663  264 
272  140  591 
271410  687 
85  428  325 
122  099  485 

Francs. 
153  741989 
202  710114 
270  631  594 
126  157  880 
177  168  499 

Lbs. 

179  600  000 

252  667  555 

241445  321 

487  573 

10  000 

1  034  432  672 

103  690  321 

930  742  352 

930  410  076 

674  210  449 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  third  column  of  the  preceding  table,  that 
the  excessive  importations  of  raw  cotton  into  France  in  1859,  1S60 
and  1861,  enabled  her  to  manage  without  a  full  supply  in  1862  and 
1863.  The  net  importations  for  the  whole  period  made  a  fair  aver- 
age— 186,148,470  pounds  per  annum.  France,  like  England,  also 
held  a  large  reserve  of  cotton  goods  in  1861.  That  reserve  is  now 
reduced  to  a  low  point.  So  long  as  the  old  supply  lasted,  France,  as 
a  community,  hardly  felt  the  pressure  of  high  prices.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  light  outlay  for  cotton  in  1862,  made  her  easy  in  money 
matters,  and  enabled  her  to  stand  the  drain  upon  her  resources, 
created  by  the  large  importations  of  grain  that  year,  in  order  to  meet 
the  deficiency  arising  from  the  bad  harvest  of  1861.  In  place  of 
buying  cotton,  she  purchased  wheat.  France  on  no  former  occasion 
drew  breadstuffs  from  abroad  in  such  quantities,  without  feeling 
great  financial  embarrassment.  The  usual  expense  to  tlie  people  of 
France  for  the  raw  cotton  contained  in  their  clothing,  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty  millions  of  francs  per  annum.  In  1 865,  that  material  will 
cost  them  upwards  of  five  hundred  millions  of  francs,  unless  prices 
should  be  much  reduced  by  the  opening  of  the  Southern  ports. 

Of  the  quantity  of  raw  cotton  received  into  France,  there  was  im- 
ported through  English  ports  (per  British  Board  of  Trade  returns),  in 


18.58, 

5,261,200  pounds 

valued  at 

£148.183 

1859, 

7,437,888      " 

t( 

185,693 

1860, 

13,028,848      " 

it 

306,610 

1861, 

12,487,440      " 

i( 

371,926 

18G2, 

61,238,576      " 

" 

3,737,366 

1863, 

80,000,000      " 

<< 

5,317,543 

44 


France  sent  to  England  in  the  same  years  (per  British  Board  of 
Trade  returns),  viz  : 


1858, 

5,264,560  pounds,  valued  at 

1859, 

3,349,136      " 

I860, 

2,186,688      " 

1861, 

955,172      " 

1862, 

5,491,248      " 

1863, 

1,683.696      " 

£157,160 

100,255 

62,562 

38,840 
327,323 
160,108 


The  raw  cotton  exported  from  England  to  France  in  1861,  1862 
and  1863,  was  of  the  growth  of  the  undermentioned  countries : 


1861. 

1862. 

1863. 

Growth  of  Southern  States, 

216  503 

703  577 

329259 

Brazil, 

- 

2  951 

87  085 

50  820 

E^ypt, 

- 

16  590 

118  381 

149  426 

British  India, 

- 

135  882 

2  810  636 

4  582  548 

Other  countries, 

Total, 

- 

17687 

205  490 

£371926 

£  3  737  366 

£5  317  543 

It  will  be  noticed  by  these  tables  that  France  carries  on  both  an 
importing  and  an  exporting  trade  in  raw  cotton  with  England.  She, 
however,  buys  more  cotton  from,  than  she  sells  to  England.  Her 
exports  thither  of  that  article  consist  principally  of  the  American  sta- 
ple, of  which  sort  she  sometimes  imports  more  than  she  needs.  Her 
supplies  from  England  of  late  are  mostly  of  Indian  cotton.  Under 
the  Cobden  treaty  of  1860,  all  cotton  of  that  description  is  admitted 
into  France  free  of  duty,  if  imported  in  British  or  French  vessels 
direct  from  a  British  port.  {Coton  de  Vlnde  en  laifie,  importe,  sou  di- 
rectem.M  des  lieux  de  production^  soit  des  enfrepois  du  Royaume-Uni 
sous  pavilion  Francois  ou  Britannique.)  American  cotton  is  subject  to 
a  duty  of  20  francs  per  100  kilogrammes  or  220  pounds.  Previous 
to  1832  the  duty  was  nearly  double  that  rate  when  imported  in  any 
but  French  vessels.  But  by  a  treaty  between  France  and  the  United 
States,  concluded  that  year,  the  vessels  of  either  country  were  placed 
upon  the  same  footing.  The  importation,  however,  had  to  be  direct 
from  the  place  of  production,  and  the  origin  of  the  article  duly  au- 
thenticated. A  ministerial  decree  of  December  17,  1851,  enlarged 
the  provisions  of  the  treaty,  so  as  to  extend  the  equality  between  the 
vessels  of  the  two  powers,  as  far  as  cotton  was  concerned,  even 
should  the  American  vessel  touch  at  a  British  port ;  but  in  that  event, 
i\\Q  captain  is  required  to  exhibit  a  certificate  from  the  French  consul 
at  such  port,  stating  that  no  sale  had  taken  place  since  it  came  on 
board  of  his  ship.  This  relaxation  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact 
of  the  steamships  of  the  New  York  and  Havre  line,  which  frequently 
carried  cotton,  making  Southampton  a  port  of  call.  The  service  of 
those  steamers  has  been  discontinued  since  December  11,  1861 ;  but 


45 

their  place  has  been  supplied  by  German  and  French  lines.  The 
restrictions  upon  the  importations  of  cotton  have  been  further  relaxed, 
and  it  is  now  admitted  into  the  ports  of  France  in  the  vessels  of  all 
nations.  The  duty  on  American  cotton  ought  to  be  removed  alto- 
gether. The  amount  generally  collected  by  the  French  Government, 
upon  its  importation,  is  about  15,000,000  francs.  The  commerce 
between  the  Confederacy  and  France,  since  the  Cobden  treaty  came 
into  operation,  has  been  so  limited  that  the  injury  to  the  Southern 
planter,  by  the  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  Indian  ryot,  has  not  yet 
been  seen  or  felt. 

The  chief  exportations  of  cotton  from  Havre  are  by  railway  to 
Switzerland.  Next  in  extent  are  those  to  Holland  and  Sardinia. 
Smaller  shipments  are  made  to  the  other  Italian  States,  to  Spain,  and 
to  Austria. 

The  shipments  of  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods  from  England  to 
France,  1858  to  1863  (per  British  Board  of  Trade  tables),  were: 


YEARS. 

PIECE  GOODS. 

HOSIERY. 
LACE,  &c. 

TWIST  AND  YARN. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Value. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Yards. 

£ 

£ 

Lbs. 

£ 

1858, 

11566  075 

192  432 

38  000 

800  J  29 

53  393 

1859, 

9  501  637 

174  441 

40  000 

360  319 

33  379 

1860, 

10  871407 

206  849 

41412 

533  931 

50  459 

1861, 

31331305 

478  327 

83  554 

1  701  565 

187  228 

1862, 

34  716  448 

548  381 

190  256 

1899  366 

245  807 

1863, 

30  000  000 

455  039 

103  991 

1  500  000 

178  521 

The  shipments  of  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods  to  England  from 
France,  1S5S  to  1SG3  (per  British  Board  of  Trade  tables),  in  value, 
were : 


1858, 
1859, 
1860, 
1861, 
1862. 
1863, 


Cotton  Manu- 
facturer, 

Embroidery, 

&c. 

£ 

£ 

312  587 

21937 

371  774 

28  658 

384  251 

23  954 

399  210 

25  756 

450  397 

3  552 

553  602 

No  return.s. 

46 

The  British  Commissioners  of  Customs,  in  their  report  for  1S62, 
give  the  following  account  of  the  working  of  the  Cobden  treaty: 

France,  thoug-h  not  quite  coming  up  to  the  expectations  we  expressed  last  year,  as  to 
the  extension  of  her  trade  in  British  produce  and  manufactures,  shows,  nevertheless,  an 
increase,  which  must  be  considen^d  as  satisfactory,  when  the  extraordinary  impulse  given  to 
her  dealings  with  Lhis  country  in  186 1  is  remembered.  The  figures  representing  the  declared 
value  of  our  exports  to  that  country,  are : 

J8(i0,  -  -  -  £5,249,980 

1861,  -  -  -  -  '         8,895,588 

1862,  .  .  -  -  9,210,523 

Increase  in  1861  over  1860,  ...  -  £3,645.608 

1862    "     1861,  ....  314,935 

1862     "     1860,  ....  3,960,543 

The  largest  increase  is  in  woolen  manufactures.  The  advance  in  cotton  and  linen  piece 
goods,  drugs,  eartlienware  and  porcelain,  is  steady  and  satisfactory,  though  not  equal  to  that 
of  the  former  year,  even  in  those  articles  in  which,  owing  to  the  reduction  of  rates  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  treaty,  having  come  the  latest  into  operation,  we  anticipated  last  year  the 
largest  improvement.  In  speaking,  however,  of  the  results  ot^  the  treaty,  we  are  justified 
in  taking  the  two  years  together,  and  directing  attention  to  the  large  increase  of  £3,960,543. 

The  demand  in  this  country  for  the  products  and  manufactures  of  France,  continues  to 
be  supplied  at  an  advancing  rate,  in  consequence  of  the  mutual  removal  of  protection 
duties  in  both  countries  by  the  commercial  treaty.  While  our  exports  to  France  shows  only 
an  incr(;ase  of  3i-  per  cent.,  the  imports  from  that  country,  exclusive  of  corn,  grain,  aud 
meal  of  all  sorts,  which  we  have  omitted  in  the  return,  for  the  reason  given  in  our  last  re- 
port, in  the  three  years,  have  been  as  follows : 

1860,  ....        £13,874,736 

1861,  -  -  -  -  16,658,584 

1862,  -  -  -  -  19,911,903 

Showing  an  increase  of  20  per  cent,  in  1861  over  1860,  and  a  further  increase  of  19  per 
cent,  in  1862  over  1861.  The  import  of  cotton  manufactures  has  risen  13  percent.;  of 
gloves,  13  per  cent. ;  of  silk  manufactures  8  per  cent. ;  of  woolen  manufactures,  18  per 
cent.,  and  of  artificial  flowers,  26  per  cent." 

The  commissioners,  in  their  report  for  1863,  when  again  speaking 
of  the  British  commerce  with  France,  remark: 

The  only  foreign  country  of  any  importance  to  which  our  foreign  trade  has  fallen  off,  on 
a  comparison  with  1862,  is  our  nearest  neighbor,  France.  In  the  separate  return  which  we 
have  continued  this  year  for  that  country,  as  for  America,  we  find  the  real  values  for  the 
last  five  years  to  be  as  follows : 

1859,  ....        £4,754,354 

J  860.  ....  5,249,980 

1861,  ....  8,895,588 

1862,  ....  9,209,:>67 

1863,  ....  8,667,138 

After  the  sudden  impulse  given  to  our  manufactures  by  the  commercial  treaty,  which 
threw  open  a  fresh  field  for  trade,  and  resulted  in  an  increase  of  3^  millions  in  our  amount 
of  exports  to  France  for  1861,  it  is  somewhat  disappointing  to  find,  first  in  1862,  as  we  re- 
marked last  year,  a  less  decided  rise,  and  then  in  1863  a  positive  diminution  in  the  demand 
for  our  goods.  Tliis  is  to  be  accounted  for  partly  by  the  fact  that  ^he  supply  of  British 
goods  was  at  first  in  excess  of  the  real  demand,  and  partly  by  the  spirit  of  competition  with 
the  English,  that  has  been  aroused  in  the  French  manufacturer.  Prompted  by  this  feeling, 
he  has  undoubtedly  increased  his  capital,  and  set  himself  with  energy  to  imitate  many  of  our 
most  useful  manufactures,  which  the  superior  cheapness  of  labor  in  his  country  enables 
liim  to  do  with  advantage,  and  so  compete  with  us  successfully  in  the  markets.  While, 
however,  we  do  not  for  these  reasons  anticipate  any  further  great  extension  of  our  export 
trade  in  that  direction,  we  can  still  look  with  satisfaction  on  the  increase  of  nearly  four  mil- 
lions in  1863  as  compared  with  1859,  the  last  year  before  the  conclusion  of  the  commercial 
treaty. 

The  commissioners  complain  that  the  commerce  between  the  Uni- 
ted Kingdom  and  France,  under  the  new  treaty,  has  not  been  in- 
creased as  much  as  was  expected ;  and  in  their  effort  to  explain  the 


47 

causes  for  their  disappointment,  overlook  the  fact  that  since  freer  trade 
was  established  under  its  provisions,  the  difficulties  in  America  have 
arisen.  Those  difficulties  have  an  indirect  bearing  upon  the  trade  of 
England  and  France,  not  only  with  each  other,  but,  as  time  will  de- 
monstrate, with  their  commerce  with  the  whole  world.  The  partial 
loss  of  the  American  trade  to  both  England  and  France,  has  pre- 
vented them  from  receiving  the  full  benefit  of  the  Cobden  treaty. 
Had  it  not  been  for  that  treaty  they  must  have  felt  the  troubles  in 
America  keenly.  As  it  is,  the  treaty  stepped  in  and  enabled  France 
and  England  in  a  measure  to  occupy  a  place  towards  each  other, 
which  was  formerly  held  by  the  American  States.  The  losses  to  the 
nations  of  Europe,  owing  to  the  temporary  dethronement  of  Kins^ 
Cotton,  have  thus  been  palliated. 

Belgium  imports  75,000  bales  of  cotton  of  400  pounds  each,  one- 
half  of  which  is  the  growth  of  the  Southern  States;  the  other  half 
is  East  Indian  cotton,  received  through  England.  Her  re-exports  in 
the  manufactured  state  amount  to  one-eighth  of  all  she  imports. 
She  buys  from  England  -560,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  3,000,000 
yards  of  cotton  goods.  The  consumption  of  cotton  within  her  limits 
is  4  pounds  per  head.     Her  population  is  5,000,000. 

In  Spain,  the  cotton  culture  and  manuliicture  was  introduced  by 
the  Moors,  and  continued  by  them  to  some  extent  for  several  cen- 
turies. The  cotton  grown  in  Motril,  Kingdom  of  Granada,  was  of 
good  staple  and  much  prized.  Barcelona  was  famed  for  her  sail 
cloth.  The  cotton  sail  cloth  of  the  present  day,  therefore,  is  no  new 
article  of  commerce.  The  fustianeros  ol"  Spain  wove  stout  cotton 
goods,  from  which  the  term  fustian  is  derived.  Cotton  paper  was 
made  by  the  Spanish  Arabs.  The  strong  religious  hatred  that  existed 
between  the  two  rival  races  on  the  i)eninsula,  prevented  these  orien- 
tal arts  from  extending  further  west,  or  taking  a  strong  hold  on  the 
Christian  population,  and  consequently  at  the  fall  of  the  Saracen  em- 
pire in  Spain,  the  cotton  culture  and  manufacture  relapsed  into  in- 
significance. About  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  the  cotton  manufac- 
ture began  to  revive,  from  which  time,  up  to  the  period  of  the 
American  war,  it  had  slowly  increased.  Spain  imports  annually 
about  100,000  bales  of  cotton  of  400  lbs.  each — SO  per  cent,  of 
which  is  the  growth  of  the  Southern  States.  She  draws  from  Brazil 
about  6,000  bales  of  the  same  weight ;  from  Porto  Rico,  about  700 
bales;  Cuba,  about  300  bales,  and  the  balance  from  British  India  via 
England  and  the  Mediterranean.  She  also  imports  about  200,000 
pounds  of  cotton  yarn,  and  3,500,000  yards  cotton  goods — the  yarns 
and  goods  chiefly  from  England.  Her  population  is  16,500,000. 
They  consume  3  pounds  of  cotton  per  head. 

Portugal  imports  about  5,000  bales  of  cotton  annually — nine- 
tenths  of  which  quantity  is  received  from  the  Brazils,  and  the  bal- 
ance is  of  the  growth  of  the  Southern  States,  obtained  through  Eng- 
land. Portugal  is  a  large  customer  to  England  for  cotton  yarns  and 
cotton  goods — from  whom  she  purchases  annually  about  300,000 
pounds  of  the  one,  and  55,000,000  yards  of  the  other.  Her  popula- 
tion is  3,600,000.     The  consumption  of  cotton  is  at  the  rate  of  four 


48 

pounds  per  head.  The  Portuguese,  who  were  the  discoverers  of  the 
passage  to  India,  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  made  large  importa- 
tions of  cotton  stuffs  and  muslins  into  Europe,  but  they  did  not  at- 
tempt to  establish  cotton  manufactures  in  their  own  country. 

Cotton  was  introduced  into  Italy  as  a  garden  plant,  at  a  very  early 
date.  It  was  cultivated  as  a  crop  in  the  eleventh  century  along  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Taranto,  where  its  manufacture  sprang  up.  It 
was  the  fashion  for  the  ladies  to  occupy  their  spare  time  in  spinning 
yarn  and  knitting  stockings,  which  were  greatly  admired,  and  sold 
for  high  prices.  Italian  muslins  were  much  in  vogue  until  the  end  of 
the  last  century,  when  they  were  superseded  by  those  of  India,  and 
in  turn  by  those  of  England.  During  the  wars  of  Napoleon  the 
Great,  when  the  "Continental  system"  was  in  operation,  and  cotton 
could  not  be  obtained  from  other  sources  in  Europe,  Italy  produced 
a  considerable  quantity  of  that  staple.  So  much  so  that  the  olive 
tree  and  the  mulberry  tree,  which  at  one  time  were  the  principal  ob- 
jects of  cultivation,  were  destroyed  in  order  to  make  room  for  cot- 
ton. This  state  of  affairs  existed  about  ten  years.  After  peace 
prices  of  cotton  fell  so  low  that  cultivation  shrank  back  into  its 
former  narrow  limits.  About  40,000  bales  of  cotton  are  now  grown 
in  Italy,  and  she  imports  a  similar  quantity — three-fourths  of  which 
is  of  the  growth  of  the  Southern  States.  The  Italian  States  take 
from  England  12,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  100,000,000 
yards  of  cotton  goods.  Italy,  in  common  with  all  the  European  coun- 
tries, held  a  large  reserve  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods  when  the  "  war 
of  the  secession"  commenced;  and  under  the  influence  of  high  prices, 
she  has  parted  with  a  large  share  of  her  raw  material  to  France  and 
England. 

Greece  is  a  grower  but  not  an  importer  of  cotton :  nor  was  she 
until  recently  an  exporter  of  that  article,  in  consequence  of  a  heavy 
duty  having  been  placed  upon  all  cotton  leaving  her  ports  That 
export  duty,  which  was  40  per  cent.,  has  now  been  reduced  to  20  per 
cent.  She  is  a  customer  to  England  for  1,000,000  pounds  of  cotton 
yarns  and  10,000,000  yards  of  cotton  goods. 

The  consumption  of  cotton  in  Prussia  is  only  about  70,000  bales 
of  400  pounds  each,  along  with  12,000,000  pounds  of  yarn  and 
4,000,000  yards  of  cotton  goods,  which  she  purchases  from  England. 
In  Saxony,  about  80,000  bales  of  cotton  are  consumed  by  the  mills. 
That  quantity  is  about  equally  divided  between  Confederate  and  East 
Indian  cotton.     Saxony  is  also  a  large  consumer  of  English  yarns. 

Bavaria  holds  an  equal  position  v/ith  Saxony  towards  the  cotton 
trade. 

In  all  the  German  States,  about  three  pounds  of  cotton  per  head 
are  consumed  every  year  by  their  people.  One-half  of  that  quantity 
is  produced  by  their  own  mills:  the  other  half  is  in  cotton  goods 
imported  from  England.  The  German  States  are  supplied  with  the 
cotton  consumed  in  their  factories,  chiefly  through  the  Hanseatic 
cities  of  Hamburg  and  Bremen.  German  cotton  goods  are  exported 
to  the  American  States  to  the  amount  of  generally  2,000,000  dollars 
«  year.     These  goods  are  made  principally  in  Saxony. 


49 

Austria  hitherto  has  conducted  quite  a  respectable^  conunerce  in 
cotton  with  the  American  States.  She  has  made  a  pjetty  rapid 
stride  of  lecent  years  in  her  cotton  manufacturinii  industry  She 
purchases  about  170,000  bales  of  cotton  of  400  pounds  each — one- 
third  of  which  reaches  her  through  England,  from  whom  she  buys 
about  5,000,000  pounds  of  yarn  and  20,000,000  of  yards  of  cotton 
goods. 

The  cotton  manufactures  of  Switzerland  are  known  to  have  existed 
as  early  as  1423.  In  that  year  a  decree  was  issued  ])y  t\\r  Canton  of 
Lucerne,  directing  that  cotton  goods  should  be  sold  by  weight.  It  is 
conjectun^d  that  it  is  from  this  decree  that  the  custom  originated  of 
selling,  entering  and  clearing  cotton  gooils  by  weight  as  well  as  by 
measure.  The  principal  cotton  marts  at  that  time  were  France, 
Germany  and  Italy.  Switzerland  manufactures  about  7-3,000  bales 
of  cotton  or  :;0,000,000  pounds  per  annum.  Four-fifths  the  quan- 
tity is  imported  into  Havre,  and  passed  through  France  by  railway, 
at  a  heavy  expense.  The  other  fifth  is  obtained  through  the  ports  of 
Germany  One-half  the  cotton  used  by  the  mills  of  Switzerland  is 
of  Southern  growth.  She  also  im[>orts  2, MOO, 000  poun<ls  of  cotton 
yarn  and  :30,-300,000  yards  of  cotton  goods.  The  population  af 
Switzerland  is  2,o00,u00,  and  she  consumes  within  her  limits  three 
pounds  p.-r  inhabitant,  or  7,500,000  pounds  of  cotton  a  year,  and 
exports  in  goods,  incbnling  h)ss  by  sjiinning,  J^], 000, ('00  pounds  per 
Hunuin.  She  ranks  next  to  England,  in  t-omparison  with  her  popu- 
lation, ill  the  production  of  cotton  yarns  and  cotton  goods.  Her  cot- 
ton mannfactiires  have  largely  increased  during  the  last  thirty  years,, 
without  the  aid  of  protective  duties,  notwithstanding  the  enor- 
mous ex[>ense  she  is  subjected  to,  in  obtaining  her  supplies  of  the 
raw  material,  and  sending  overland  to'  otl^er  countries,  the  surplus 
product  of  her  looms.  Being  situated  ou  the  confines  of  States  wliicb 
unpose  high  protective  tariffs  on  the  importation  of  cotton  fabri^-s*. 
she  has  pursued  the  opposite  policy,  and  admitted  all  goods  fre<*  of 
duty.  This  has  caused  her  people  to  obtain  chea[)  cotton  tabrieN, 
and  they  therefore  have  been  ennbled  to  smuggle  tfiem  with  advan- 
tage into  the  territories  of  her  neighbors.  This  contrabani^-  tmde  has 
yielded  large  profits.  The  prosperity  of  Switzerland  is  also  due  to 
the  abundance  of  her  water  power,  and  the  great  energ^y,  intelligence 
and  industrial  genius  of  her  popidation. 

The  Dutch,  who  succeeded  in  depriving  the  Portuguese  of  a  por< 
tion  of  their  Eastern  colonies,  imported  the  cotton  goods  of  India  m 
large  quantities,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  estab- 
lished factories  of  their  own  to  imitate  the  fabrics  of  the  East.  The 
cotton  manufacture  has  continued  to  this  day.  Holland  imports 
about  110,000  bales  of  cotton  of  400  pou^ids  each,  three-fourths  of 
wliich  is  into  Rotterdam,  and  the  remaining  fourth  into  Amsterdam. 
She  likewise  imports  from  England  35,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn 
and  35,000,000  yards  of  cotton  goods. 

Sweden  imports  25,000  bales  of  cotton  of  400  pounds  each.     One- 
third  of  her  receipts  of  that  staple  conies  through  England,  from  whont 
7 


50 

she  also  purchases  1,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  1,200,000 
pounds  of  cotton  goods. 

Norway  imports  very  little  raw  cotton.  She  buys  from  England 
125,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  upwards  of  2,000,000  yards 
of  cotton  goods. 

Denmark  imports  from  England  2,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn 
and  3,500,000  yards  of  cotton  cloth. 

Russia,  previous  to  the  American  war,  imported  upwards  of  200,000 
bales  of  cotton  a  year,  about  one-third  of  which  was  received  direct 
from  American  ports,  and  the  remainder,  with  the  exception  of  some 
small  lots  of  Persian  growth,  was  obtained  m  England.  Russia  buys 
from  England  about  4,000,000  pounds  of  yarn  and  5,000,000  yards 
of  cotton  goods.  Russia,  like  other  countries,  has  been  reducing 
her  reserve  .stock  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods  for  several  years. 

Turkey  does  not  purchase  any  raw  cotton,  but  she  buys  annually 
25,000,0U0  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  300,000,000  yards  of  cotton 
goods  from  England.  She  exports  moderate  quantities  of  raw  cotton 
to  Western  Europe. 

The  figures  that  are  given  for  the  cotton  trade  of  the  several  con- 
tinental countries,  other  than  France,  represent  their  ordinary  com- 
merce. The  inflated  condition  of  aflfliirs  in  connection  with  that 
trade,  which  existed  just  previous  to  the  American  war,  will  best  be 
seen  by  statement  I,  which  gives  the  import,  export,  consumption 
and  stock  of  law  cotton  in  Europe  in  1-60  and  1S61.  All  the  con- 
tinental markets  were  likewise  largely  overstocked  with  British  cotton 
goods,  as  the  tables  of  exportations  from  England  for  1S60  and  Jb6l 
testify.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  the  case  that  Russia  shipped 
back  to  England  in  1862,  304,066  pounds  of  cotton  yarn,  and  Ger- 
many returned  large  quantities  of  calicoes.  Those  shipments,  which 
seemed  like  "sending  coals  to  Newcastle,"  actually  paid  handsome 
|)rofits. 

Egypt  imports  from  England  about  2,000,000  pounds  of  cotton 
yaru'and  70,000,000  yards  of  cotton  goods.  She  is  the  only  coun- 
try, other  than  the  Confederate  States,  tliat  exports  more  cotton  in 
die  raw  state  than  she  imp'  rts  in  the  manufactured  condition;  and 
yet  she  did  not  commence  the  cultivation  of  that  staple  in  earnest 
until  1818.  It  seems  strange  that  the  two  countries  that  were  the 
latest  in  engaging  in  that  species  of  agriculture,  should  be  the  only 
countries  that  ^ean  produce  more  th;in  they  need  for  their  own  wants. 
A  great  deal  of  cotton  is  used  in  Egypt  for  making  up  divans,  the 
usual  furniture  of  the  country. 

A  statement  of  the  cotton  trade  with  British  India  has  been  given 
in  the  preceding  part  of  this  paper. 

China  takes  from  Etiglnnd  eveiy  year  about  10,000,000  pounds 
of  cotton  yarns  and  200,000,000  yards  of  cotton  clotii,  as  well  as 
;200,0a0  bales  of  cotton  from  India;  also  from  one  million  and  a  half 
•to  two  millions  of  dollars  in  value  of  American  cotton  goods. 

Nearly  all  the  other  Eastern  countries  are  customers  to  England 
for  her  cotton  fabrics,  Africa  too  is  supplied  by  the  looms  of  Lan- 
<cashire. 


51 

Brazil,  as  already  noticed,  sends  most  of  her  raw  cotton  to  Ens- 
land;  the  remainder,  with  the  exception  of  some  little  to  Spain  and 
Germany,  to  Portugal.  Brazil  consumes  annually  about  I40,000,0(K) 
yards  of  British  cotton  goods,  whicli  contain  of  raw  cotton  nearly 
twice  the  weight  of  all  she  exports  of  that  material.  Brazil  does  not 
import  any  cotton  yarns. 

The  cotton  plant  is  indigenous  to  Mexico.  Cotton  has  always  been 
grown  there,  inn]  manufactures  have  been  condnrrt  d  on  a  small  scale. 
Mexico  does  not  export  any  but  Confederate  cotton  sent  thither  fof 
reshipn»ent;  she  is  a  regular  iujporter  of  that  material  to  the  extent 
of  about  40,01)0  bales  annually  for  her  own  consumption.  She  is 
likewise  an  importer  of  American  cotton  goods.  Enizland  usually 
sends  her  200,000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn  and  1-5,0! )0,00)  yards  of 
cotton  goods. 

Englandjs  an  exporter  of  cotton  goods  to  all  the  South  American 
States  and  to  the  AVi'st  Indies.  In  tact,  her  cotton  fabrics  are  con- 
\8umed  throughout  the  world.  She  exported  to  the  thirty-three  States 
of  the  late  Federal  Union,  in  ISnO,  22l),776,9:j9  yards  of  cotton 
goods,  valued  at  <£ 3,849,9 1-5.  The  quantity  was  reduced  in  ISGl, 
owing  partly  to  the  secession  of  the  Southern,  and  [)artly  to  the 
overstocks  of  goods  in  the  Northern  States,  to  74,6S<>..5-37  yards  of 
cotton  goods,  valued  at  ^1.254, 345.  In  J8G2  the  figures  stood 
97,375,709  yards  of  cotton  goods,  valued  at  ^1,842,338;  and  in 
1803,  (no  data)  yards,  valued  at  £  1,61 1,835. 

When  it  is  considered  that  90  per  cent,  of  all  the  cotton  yarns  and 
cotton  goods  manufactured  in  I^ngland  are  of  Southern  cotton,  it  will 
readily  be  seen  how  important  the  Confederate  States  are  to  her  irt  a 
commercial  point  of  view.  There  is  no  article  of  connnerce  that 
passes  through  so  many  hands  as  cotton — no  article  of  magnitude, 
in  all  its  ramiHcatious,  that  employs  so  much  labor.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  cotton  of  the  Southein  States,  after  passing  through  English 
machinery,  has  enabled  the  British  merchants  to  settle  their  exchanges 
with  every  nation  in  Christendom.  It  is  not  Lancashire  alone  that 
is  interested  in  the  cotton  question.  The  overthrow  of  "Che  industry 
of  that  locality  will  act  upon  the  whole  country  :  and  that  overthrow 
is  inevitable,  now  that  stocks  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods  r  re  reduced, 
unless  cotton  can  be  obtained  from  the  Southern  States. 

The  Northern  States  of  America  have  pros}»ered  under  the  influ- 
ence of  "  King  Cotton" — not  alone  in  the  manufacture  of  the  staple, 
which  reached  as  high  as  800,000  bales  of  400  pounds  each,  but  in 
many  and  various  ways.  New  York  and  New  England  ship  owners 
earned  in  latter  years  over  S20,00i),000  perannuu)  in  carrying  cotton 
to  foreign  countries  and  to  their  own  Statr-s.  Thev  likewise  earned 
large  sums  in  transporting  the  article  when  manufactured.  The  cot- 
ton crop  was  tiie  basis  tor  the  setrlernent  of  the  loreign  exchanges 
of  al!  the  States.  It  gave  credit  to  the  North,  and  was  the  active 
promoter  of  its  prosperity.  History  makes  this  quite  manifest. 
The  Northern  States,  while  colonic i  dependencies  of  (ireat  P>ritain, 
were  only  enabled  to  pay  their  balance^  due  tor  impoitations  from 
Europe  by  selling  their  surplus  provisions,  for  wliich  there  was  no 


52 

sale  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to  the  sister  colonies  of  the 
West  Indies.  After  the  peace  of  1783  Gre;-)t  Britain  would  not 
pei-mit  the  "independent"  States  to  trade  any  more  with  those 
islands.  The  consequence  was  that  the  States  north  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line  had  no  outlet  for  their  produce.  All  the  specie,  there- 
fore, that  had  accumulated  during  the  revolutionary  war,  by  the 
expenditure  of  the  British  and  French  forces,  which  found  its  way 
into  the  interior,  as  well  ns  that  received  through  a  comnserce  clan- 
destinely conducted  with  the  Spanish  Main,  flowed  back  ro  Europe, 
and  those  States  became  impoverished.  The  Southern  States,  on  the 
other  hand,  always  had  an  European  outlet  for  their  8ur[»lus  produce, 
that  kept  them  out  of  debt.  The  Northern  States  were  in  a  bank- 
rupt condition  when  the  Constitution  went  into  operation  in  17S9. 
That  very  year  the  Freiich  Revolution  broke  out,  and  cotton,  which 
had  not  been  much  more  than  a  garden  plant  previously,  tl^en  assumed 
for  the  first  time  the  character  of  "  a  crop."  The  troubles  in  Europe 
threw  into  the  hands  of  the  Northern  Americans  the  almost  entire* 
carrying  trade  of  the  world.  That  lucrative  connnerce  lasted  until 
the  Embargo  of  ISOS,  which  was  placed  upon  foreign  intercourse 
in  retaliation  (or  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees  of  Napoleon,  and 
Orders  in  Council  of  England.  In  the  meanwiiile,  cotton  cultivation 
was  expanding,  and  long  before  the  Peace  of  Paris  (1815^,  the  South- 
ei'n  States  had  become  the  largest  cotton  exporters  of  the  world  ;  and 
they  continued  to  hold  that  position  until  the  Yankee  crusade  against 
their  rights  was  commenced.  The  Federal  Constitution  received  all 
tlie  credit  for  the  benefits  that  flowed  from  the  troubles  in  Europe 
and  the  enterprise  of  the  Southern  States  in  extending  the  cultivation 
of  cotton.  Even  now  the  Northern  States  are  dependent  upon  the 
Southern  States  for  a  supply  of  cotton.  It  is  a  pity  that  they  have 
been  y)ermitted  to  have  a  bale.  The  foolish  contracts  or  "swaps" 
that  have  been  made  with  th;it  swapping  people  (the  Yaiikees)  have 
pi-actically  neutralized  some  of  General  Lee's  brilliant  victories. 
Who  ever  expected  to  make  any  thing  by  "swapping"  with  a  Yan- 
kee? Theif*  smartness  in  that  line  of  business  is  proverbial.  It  is 
impossible  for  the  cotton  mil  is  of  the  Northern  States  to  do  without 
Southern  cotton.  They  rank  next  to  England  as  the  largest  cotton 
mannfactureis.  France  is  third  in  the  list.  The  total  value  of  cot- 
ton goods  manufactured  in  the  New  England  States  in  1859  was 
$^0,:30i,53o,  and  in  the  Middle  States  $26, 272, U I — an  increase  of 
83.4  per  cent,  in  the  former  and  77.7  in  the  latter  since  the  last  de- 
cade. The  other  States  reached  a  value  of  $8,564,280,  making  the 
whole  production  $115,137,926,  against  $65,501,687  in  1850 — an 
augmentation  of  76  per  cent.  The  extension  in  cotton  manufacture 
was  as  follows: — Maine  and  New  Jersey,  152  per  cent.;  Pennsylva- 
nia, 102  percent.;  New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut,  87  percent.; 
Massachusetts,  69  per  cent.;  and  Rhode  Island,  88  percent.  The 
value  was  at  the  rate  of  $3  69  for  each  individual  in  all  the  States, 
equivalent  to  46^.  yards  of  cloth  for  every  person,  at  8  cents  per  yard. 
The  average  production  in  1850  was  but  34J  yards  per  head.  The 
increase,  therefore,  was  about  12  yards  per  individual,  or  equal  to  the 


53 

entire  consumption  in  1S30.  The  number  of  hands  employed  in  the 
manufactories  in  1859  was  45,315  males  and  73,605  females — an  in- 
crease of  1(1,020  and  10,944  respectively  over  1850.  The  average 
product  of  an  operative  was  $9()9,  or  about  ^200  sterling.  The 
spindles  were  returned  at  5,035,798,  against  3,633,693  in  1850 — an 
advance  of  1,402,1  05,  or  38.5  percent.  The  cotton  manufacturing 
business  of  the  New  England  *^tates  was  78  6  per  cent,  of  the  whole, 
Massachusetts  alone  being  29.3  per  cent.  The  product  per  spindle 
was — In  Maine,  i>'J2  12;  Massachusetts,  821  12;  New  Hampshire, 
$24  87;  Vermont,  818  13;  Rhode  Island,  816;  Connecticut,  816  46. 
The  average  in  tfe  New  England  States  is  8  20  30;  in  the  Middle 
States,  $30  48;  and  all  the  States  together,  $22  86.  The  quantity 
of  cotton  consumed  in  the  entire  Union  in  1859  was  364,036,123 
pounds;  of  this  amount  the  New  England  States  took  about  two- 
thirds,  one-half  of  which  was  used  in  Massachusetts. 

The  cotton  manufacturing  business  became  an  important  branch  of 
northern  industry  just  after  the  embargo  was  placed  upon  foreign 
intercourse.  The  war  with  Great  Britain,  that  so  soon  foliovved, 
gave  it  a  further  start,  and  it  was  subsequently  [tampered  by  the 
high  tariffs  that  were  placed  upon  the  importation  of  foreign  cotton 
goods.  The  Southern  States  for  too  long  a  time  allowed  themselves 
to  be  injured  by  these  protective  tarifts,  which,  although  established 
at  first  for  the  purpose  of  paying  ofl'  the  war  debt,  operatt-d  to  the 
exclusive  benefit  of  the  Northern  States.  The  p'  cuniary  loss  has 
been  great,  but  the  political  misfortunes  entailed  upon  the  people  of 
the  South  has  been  greater.  While  that  peculiar  people  (the  Yan- 
kees) were  striking  at  the  peculiar  institution  of  th(^  South,  they  were 
absohitely  being  strengthened  by  unwise  legislation,  giving  them  the 
benefit  of  manufacturing  nearly  one-seventh  of  the  peculiar  kind  of 
cotton  grown  in  these  States.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these  almost  prohibi- 
tory tariffs,  the  importation  of  cotton  goods  from  Europe  into  all  the 
States  w^ei-e,  for  17  years,  in  value,  as  follows  : 

Year  ending:  June  30,  1845,  -  -  $ir{,23G,830 

J  846,  -  .  13,:J()0,729 

1847,  -  -  f2,817,4-22 

1848,  -  -  ]5,(M»0,U0() 

1849,  -  .  ]7,20r>,457 
18:,0,  -  -  15,18^,759 
1851,  -  -  19,681,612 

18.52,  -  -  21,486,.5(J2 

18.53,  -  -  ]8.71().741 

1854,  -  -  27,731,313 

1855,  -  -  33,949,503 
J  856,  -  -  21,609,861 
1857,  -  -  30,-572,352 
18.-.8,  -  .  33,128.901 

1859,  -        -      20.810,152 

1860,  -        -       37,008,232 

1861,  -        -      39,615,492 

The  importations  of  cotton  goods,  too,  weie  no  doubt  largely 
underinvoiced,  to  avoid  a  part  of  the  duties.  The  very  fact  of  such 
enormous  supplies  of  cotton  goods  of  foreign  manufacture  being  re- 
quired, in  addition  to  what  was  produced  in  the  Northern  States, 


54 


shows  the  folly  of  bolsterhig  up  a  system  of  cotton  manufacturers  on 
this  continent.  The  nations  of  Europe  might  with  equal  propriety 
continue  their  futile  efforts  to  grow  cotton  in  other  countries.  The 
truth  is,  America  is  an  agricultural  and  Europe  is  a  manufacturing 
continent,  and  all  attempts  to  change  the  character  of  the  natural 
condition  of  affairs  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic,  must  end  in  politi- 
cal ruin  and  discomfort.  There  is  a  class  of  cotton  goods  that  are 
made  in  the  Northern  Stages  for  exportation  to  the  South  American 
and  Asiatic  markets.  These  goods  can  also  be  manufactured  in  the 
Southern  States.  They  need  no  protection.  England  has  long  since 
ceased  to  be  a  competitor  w^ith  America  in  the  m^ufacture  of  that 
particular  description  of  fabrics.  In  Europe  it  is  tne  habit  to  sepa- 
rate the  qualities  of  cotton,  and  either  very  fine  or  very  inferior  goods 
are  the  result.  American  •'  domestics,"  however,  are  made  out  of 
good  cor  ton.  The  grades  of  the  staple  are  worked  up  to  an  average 
of  "  middling,"  and  not  separated  as  in  England.  The  reason  that 
the  same  system  is  not  adopted  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  is,  that 
labor  is  cheaper  in  Europe  than  it  is  in  America.  The  exportation 
of  American  cotton  goods  began  in  1827,  and  the  fuUowiug  figures 
show  the  progiess  of  that  branch  of  the  cotton  trade : 


$1,157,070 

1845, 

1,178,900 

184G, 

l,()->4,299 

1847, 

l,2H9,9'i5 

1848, 

1,;^  J  7,599 

1849, 

1,138,675 

1850, 

],-2;i9,r/0 

1851, 

2,49;-5,()00 

]  852, 

2,050,940 

1853, 

2.834,570 

1854, 

2.282,300 

1855, 

2,843,700 

1856, 

3:086,580 

1857, 

3,n36,5(i0 

1858, 

3,617,080 

1859, 

3,161,230 

1860, 

3,016,640 

1861, 

3,250,080 

$2,830,550 
4.427,660 
3,556,112 
4,080,480 
5.695,650 
4,969,780 
4,84:i,93i) 
7.396,240 
7,672,210 
8,968,900 
5,535,510 
5,857,180 
6,967,310 
6,111,510 
5,651,509 
7,539,532 
6,816,453 


1827, 
1828, 
1829, 
1830, 
1831, 
1832, 
1833, 
1834, 
1835. 
1836, 
1837, 
1838, 
1839, 
1840. 
1841, 
1842, 
1843, 
1844, 

The  manufacturers  of  the  Northern  States  have  not,  by  reason  of 
their  nearer  proximity  to  the  plantations  of  the  South,  had  much  ad- 
vantage over  those  of  Europe.  The  expense  of  sending  cotton  North 
is  almost  as  great  as  that  of  sending  it  to  Europe.  The  cry  of  the 
American  protectionists  that  cotton  was  sent,  {(t  a  heavy  expense,  to 
be  manufactured  in  Europe,  was  simply  absurd.  The  cost  of  trans- 
porting raw  cotton,  and  bringing  it  back  in  the  manufactured  state, 
is  very  trifling,  in  comparison  with  all  the  other  charges  entailed 
upon  it.  So,  while  the  freights  were  but  little  higher  to  Europe 
than  to  New  England,  the  saving  in  other  ways,  by  making  use  of 
the  cheaper  laboi',  lower  interest  and  the  more  suitable  climate  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  was  very  great.  After  the  reopening 
of  the  ports  of  the  West  Indies  in  1830,  to  American  commerce, 
and  the  remaval  of  the  Federal  duty  of  3  cents  per  pound,  the  jN'oith 
became,  to  a  limited  extent,  a  regular  purcha^er  of  cotton  from  theiB. 
The  Islands  were  even  nearer  to  New  England  than  most  of  the 
cotton  States  of  the  South.     The  export  duty  that  existed  in  some 


55 

of  those  Islands,  lowered  the  price  of  the  cotton  at  the  place  of 
shipment,  and  operated,  like  all  export  duties  on  raw  produce,  as 
a  tax  upon  the  planter.  The  Northern  States  have  recently  been  re- 
ceiving a  few  thousand  bales  of  inferior  cotton  from  the  East  Indies. 
Since  the  war  commenced,  the  quantit)^  of  cotton  imported  into  the 
Northern  States  from  Europe  has  been  about  equal  in  amount  to  that 
which  has  been  exported  froni  the  Northern  States  to  Europe.  As 
the  quotations  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ascended,  a  ''  trapeze" 
commerce  commenced,  and  the  same  cotton  was  several  times  sent 
backvvards  and  forwards,  until  it  eventually  fell  into  the  lap  of  the 
manufacturer.  It  was,  therefore,  owing  to  the  tariff  system  alone, 
which  has  been  already  explained,  that  the  Northern  States  have 
been  directly  benefited  through  the  agency  of  King  Cotton,  because 
European  countries  have  had  almost  equal  advantage  with  them  in 
the  purchase  of  the  raw  material — particularly  since  the  British  im- 
port duty  was  taken  off. 

But  the  nulincf  advantages  which  the  Northern  States  have  received 
through  the  ijitluence  of  the  commercial  monarch,  have  been  mani- 
fold. By  acting  as  bankers  and  commission  merchants  for  the  States 
of  the  South,  those  of  the  North  have  acquired  great  credit  in  Europe, 
which  has  enabled  them  to  control  likewise  th(^  internal  commerce 
of  all  the  States.  It  has  been  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  South- 
ern States  were  always  largely  in  debt  to  the  Northern  States.  At 
one  season  of- the  year — the  summer  time — when  there  was  no  use 
in  the  South  for  money  to  move  the  crops,  the  former  became  the 
creditors  of  the  latter.  Whenever  the  balance  happened  to  be  the 
other  way,  it  was  not  Northern  but  European  capital  that  was  used. 
The  Northerners  being  a  speculative  people,  have  always  been  "  over 
invested,"^  and  the  values  of  their  real  and  personal  property  since 
the  cotton  trade  became  of  importance,  have  been  based  upon  their 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  South.  This  was  strikingly  mani- 
fested during  the  early  months  of  1S61.  In  the  int<M'regnum  .which 
existed  between  the  period  of  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States, 
which  caused  a  decline  in  the  internal  commerce  of  *'the  country," 
and  the  large  Federal  expenditure  for  the  pur[)oses  of  war,  there  was 
a  great  depieciarion  in  the  values  or  property  of  every  desciiprion. 
That  depreciation  will  again  ajipear.  in  a  much  greater  degree,  afrer 
the  war  expenditure  ceases.  The  North  has  no  cash  capital  of  its 
own.  Ever  since  ihe  regularity  of  Atlantic  steauj  communication, 
the  bankers  and  financiers  of  Wall  street  have  been  borrowers  from 
Louibaid  street,  under  a  system  of  floating  indebtedness,  conducted 
through  the  agency  of  bills  of  exchange  at  sixtj^  days'  sight.  The 
drafts  passing  do  not  as  formerly  only  represent  the  value  of  njer- 
chandise,  but  in  the  numerous  ramifications  of  the  money  operations, 
the  amount  of  P^uropean  acceptances  of  American  bills  is  ])robably 
five  or  six  times  greater  than  the  aggr^-gate  commercial  transactions. 
This  business  lias  been  a  great  source  of  revenue  to  New  York,  the 
interejif  charged  in  Europe,  being  much  less  than  that  which  is  earned 
in  AmerK-a  by  reloaning  the  borrowed  capital.  The  regular  commferce 
between  the  North  and  Europe  has,  in  a  manner,  like  the  cotton 
trad:'  of  the  South,  much  fallen  off.     Y<»t  th.i  number  and  amount  of 


56 

bills  of  exchange  passing  between  Wall  street  and  Lombard  street, 
is  as  great  as  ever.  They  are  accommodation  bills  chiefly.  The  ma- 
chinery of  finance  thus  kept  going,  while  it  enables  many  Anglo- 
American  houses  to  sustain  themselves  until  "  something  turns  up," 
likewise  benefits  the  Federal  exchequer,  as  the  system  of  kiting  retains 
British  capital  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  prevents  the  price  of 
gold  from  ascending.  Many  of  the  London-American  banking  lirms 
must  succumb  to  the  storm,  whenever  Wall  street  breaks  down. 
One  of  these  "  r^niinent"  bankers,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  has  had  the 
good  sense  to  "  clear  himself"  from  danger — he  does  not  even  leave 
his  nanje  behind.  He  has  withch'awn  from  business  altogether.  It  is 
simply  a  matter  of  impossibility  for  a  great  war,  such  as  has  existed 
between  the  American  States  for  nearly  four  years,  not  to  inflict  a 
blow  upon  the  financial  centre  of  the  world  ;  and  the  longer  the 
conflict  lasts,  the  worse  will  it  be  for  Lombard  street.  That  financial 
thoroughfare  has  been  rendered  pretty  "  easy"  up  to  the  present 
time,  by  the  sale  of  the  old  stock  of  cotton  and  cotton  goods — by 
the  conversion  of  the  ]"aw  material  and  manufactured  article  into 
cash.  England  has  had  more  ready  money  than  usual  by  the  sales 
thus  made  ;  but  it  has  been  merely  turning  merchandise  into  gold  and 
silver — and  tliat  gold  and  silver  has  been  recklessly  frittered  away. 

Englishmen  boast  of  the  increase  in  the  value  of  their  exports 
since  the  commencement  of  the  American  war.  They  omit  to  take 
into  account  the  increased  value  of  their  imporfs.  T\w  values  of 
both  the  exports  and  imports  were  augmented  by  the  rise  in  prices 
of  all  textile  materials,  owing  to  the  reduced  supply  of  cotton.  The 
bullion  in  the  Bank  of  England  is  a  guide  as  to  the  course  of  the  for- 
eign exchanges.  But  the  only  way  to  measure  the  wealth  of  the 
fjnited  Kingdom  in  1865,  and  to  compare  it  with  that  of  1860,  is  to 
take  an  account  stock  of  the  merchandise  on  hand,  place  a  value  on 
the  same,  also  to  make  up  a  statement  of  the  debts  due  to  England, 
and  place  a  value  upon  them.  The  debtors  to  England,  as  a  class, 
are  not  so  solvent  as  they  were  in  1850.  The  Northern  States  owe 
her  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  which  they  never  will  be  able  to 
pay.  A  little  book-keeping  will  show  that  the  increased  prosperity 
of  En.uland  these  past  four  yejA-s,  is  nothing  more  than  fiction. 

As  a  specimen  of  Federal  kiting,  the  following  extract  from  Mr. 
Fessenden's  last  report  to  the  Washington  Congress  is  subjoined : 

The  item  of  "preniinm  on  giAd  shipped  from  San  Francisco  to  Laudou"  may  also  re([nire 
iurther  explanation.  In  Marcli  ]S'od,  it  bei'tiine  n^'cessary  to  transmit  a  considerable  amount 
of  funds  to  London  for  a  ^J)e(•ial  purpose,  for  which  an  appropriation  had  Ic  en  made  by 
CongTcss,  and  it  -svas  thought  advisable  to  dt^posit  a  certain  amount  o\'  our  s(H-rt.  ities  Avitlr 
an  eminent  London  banker,  afyainst  which  bills  n)ig'ht  be  drawn.  Five-twenty  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $10,MK!,000  were  accordingly  passed  into  the  bauds  of  two  distinguisiied 
citizens,  to  whose  care  the  negotiation  was  conunitted.  The  negotiation  failed,  and  the 
$10,000,000  were  returned  to  the  Treasury  and  disposed  of.  It  was  thought  advisable  that 
the  amount  of  $4,000, iICO  should  remain,  and  that  exchange  should  be  drawu  against  it, 
and  the  bonds  disposed  of  abroad,  if  a  favor;-, ble  market  sliould  be  found.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  very  nearly  this  amount  of  issue  is  in  excess  of  the  ^51i,(;C0,(Kl0  authorized  by- 
existing  loan's,  $510,75*1,900  haviug  been  disposed  of — any  bonds  known  as  5-*^('s  remaiu 
ing  unsold.  It  is  at  least  questionable  whether  ity  this  clause  power  is  couferK^d  to  dispose 
of  an  amount  beyond  that  hxed  by  existing  laws.  Additional  legislation  may  relieve  tliat 
doubt,  should  Congress  think  it  advisable,  otherwise  they  may  be  canceled,  ilxchaugo 
having  been  drawu,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  funds  to  meet  the  bills  at  maturitj, 
which  was  accomplished  by  shipments  ot  gold  from  California. 


57 

The  transaction  referred  to  is  only  one  of  the  many  operations  of 
a  similar  kind.  The  Federal  Government  does  not  confine  its  finan- 
cial affairs  to  "  eminent"  firms,  but  through  the  Baniv  of  Commerce 
in  New  York,  an  enormous  number  of  bills  of  exchange  are  floatfd 
upon  commercial  concerns  of  less  magnitude.  Very  many  millions 
of  dollars  have  been  thrown  into  Northern  coffers  by  the  construction 
of  railways  in  the  North.  Very  few  of  those  railways  ever  had  much 
capital  stock  subscribed.  The  lenders  have  been  deluded  with  "  bonds;" 
and  so  long  as  the  interest  is  paid  upon  those  bonds — out  of  the  princi- 
pal of  course — "all  goes  merry  as  a  marriage  bell."  Pay  day,  how- 
ever, will  come,  when  the  rottenness  of  the  whole  Northern  system  will 
be  exposed.  The  Federal  railways  have  had  a  temporary  prosperity 
occasioned  by  the  closing  of  the  Mississippi  to  commerce,  driving 
produce  North  and  East  instead  of  South  ;  and  by  carrying  war  sup- 
plies and  soldiers.  They,  therefore,  have  been  enabled  to  make 
flourishing  statements  to  their  innocent  European  bond  holders.  •  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  Southern  railways,  costing  some  $300,- 
000,000,  have  been  constructed  principally  by  Southern  capital, 
while  those  of  the  North  are  chiefly  owned  in  Europe.  Up  to  the 
year  1820  Philadelphia  was  the  financial  centre  and  most  iinportant 
commercial  port  of"  the  Union  ;  subsequently  she  became  blinded  by 
coal  dust;  while  New  York  having  had  the  sagacity  to  increase  her 
trade  with  the  South,  took  the  lead  of  the  former  city,  notwithstand- 
ing she  had  the  formidable  influence  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
in  her  favor.  The  Erie  Canal  was  not  completed  until  October  20, 
1S27.  A  great  error  has,  therefore,  been  committed,  as  the  dates 
make  manifest,  in  attributing  the  rapid  advancement  of  New  York 
altogether  to  that  undertaking,  it  being  quite  clear  that  she  pro- 
gressed by  and  with  the  augmentation  of  the  cotton  trade.  And 
this  fact  will  be  demonstrated  when  the  war  expenditure  ceases. 
Trade's  "proud  empire"  will  then  "haste  to  swift  d^'cay." 

The  cotton  culture  has  flourished  in  the  Southern  States,  notwith- 
standing the  pressure  of  British  and  Yankee  tarifls  against  it.  It  is 
quite  clear,  that  while  import  duties  on  all  manvfictures  are  necessa- 
rily paid  by  the  consumers,  they,  like  export  duties,  when  placed 
upon  raw  produce,  come  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  agriculturist.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark  too,  that  the  only  countries  who  have  not  aided 
their  cotton  manufacturers  by  a  system  of  protection — England  and 
Switzerland — have  prospered  more  in  that  species  of  industry  than 
any  others. 

The  facts  presented  in  this  paper  should  demonstrate  the  power  of 
"  King  Cotton."  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  exert  suflicient  in- 
fluence upon  the  world,  to  bring  peace  to  America,  so  long  as  there 
were  heavy  stocks  at  all  the  consuming  points ;  or  so  long  as  there 
was  enough  cotton  leaking  through  the  blockade  and  through  the 
Federal  lines  to  keep,  by  mixing  with  inferior  sorts,  the  mills  of 
neutral  powers  and  the  public  enemy  from  coming  to  a  full  halt. 
His  importance  to  England  is  appreciated  only  by  a  few  persons. 
The  alarm  was  sounded  some  months  ago  by  the  accomplished  gen- 
tleman at  the  head  of  the  leading  financial  journal  in  Europe  (the 
8 


58 

London  Economist),  a  publication  noted  for  its  truthfulness.  The  con- 
stant stream  of  cotton  that  has  been  passing  out  of  the  South  since 
the  article  was  written,  has  staved  off  the  apprehended  cotton  famine. 
It  is  on  this  account  that  the  generality  of  people,  who  have  neither 
the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  investigate  thoroughly,  believe  that 
all  the  predictions  that  have  been  made  in  reference  to  American  cot- 
ton, w^ill  prove  false.     Here  is  an  extract  from  the  article  alluded  to  : 

We  have  pointed  out  repeatedly  that  cotton  is  not  cotton  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
sugar  is  sugar  or  tea  is  tea ;  that  the  Indian  article  or  the  Egyptian  article,  however  largely 
furnished  to  us,  could  only  to  a  certain  extent  and  in  a  certaiu  fashion  replace  the  American 
article  ;  and  that  we  were  in  great  danger  of  deceiving  ourselves,  and  comforting  ourselves 
prematurely,  when  we  relied  on  the  increase  of  the  number  of  bales  imported  or  exported 
from  Bombay,  or  Brazil,  or  the  Levant,  as  a  positive  and  complete  relief  from  the  evils  of 
the  cotton  famine.  Of  the  long-staplt^d  cotton,  such  as  we  still  obtain  from  Egypt,  from 
Pernambuco,  and  from  Maranham,  and  such  as  we  used  to  obtain  from  the  small  sandy 
islands  lying  off  the  coast  of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  there  has  lever  been  atiy  lack,  and 
of  late  there  has  been  a  considerable  augmentation.  Of  the  very  short-stajded  cotton,  such 
as  India  always  sent,  and  such  as  China,  Japan  and  Syria  have  begun  to  send,  our  supply 
ha?  increased  ^almost  as  rapidly  and  largely  on  the  whole  as  we  could  have  anticipated. 
Each  of  these 'classes  of  raw  material  are  adapted  for  especial  uses:  the  k>ng  stapled  for 
muslins,  fine  and  medium  yarns,  and  the  tcrtr/>  of  cloth  ;  the  short-st;( pled,  for  low  yarns 
and  for  the  iceft  of  cloth.  But  of  tlie  inoderately  short-stapled  cotton — such  as  only  North 
America  produces,  which  is  adaptable  for  almost  every  purpose,  which  is  immeasurably 
more  valuable  than  Surat  for  every  case  to  which  Surat  is  applicable,  and  which  is  sivited 
for  many  uses  to  which  Surat  is  not  applicable,  we  have  been  left  almost  destitute  ever 
since  the  civd  war  broke  out,  and  shall  remain  destitute  until  the  war  shall  be  terminated; 
and  this  destitution  is,  and  must  contiiuie  to  be  severely  felt  in  Lancashire,  how-ver  enor- 
mous may  lie  the  augmentation  of.  our  supply  of  the  raw  material  from  other  quarters  and 
of  other  kinds.  But  this  is  not  all.  We  have,  or  at  least  many  of  our  manufacturers  have 
been  t(»o  sanguine  as  to  the  increased  supply  from  various  parts  of  the  world,  looking  at 
the  supply  merely  as  a  gross  aggres^ate,  without  regard  to  quality.  The  amount  expected 
from  Egypt  was  overestimated  :  so  was  that  from  India.  But  in  reference  to  this  last, 
there  is  another  con.sidtMation.  It  is  true  there  has  been  an  apparent  increase.  But  a  large 
portion  of  this  increase — no  one  can  precisely  say  Jiow  large — is  apparent  only,  and  is  in- 
deed purely  deceptive,  for  this  reason.  Owing,  to  the  enormous  prices  obtainable,  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  rubbisu  has  been  s]ii[)ped,  under  the  name  of  cotton,  for  which,  in  ordi- 
nary years,  no  one  would  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  incur  the  cost  -of  freight,  and 
which  intleed  would  not  have  been  saleable  at  "ny  price.  For  example:  we  know  of  a  re- 
cent case  in  which  a  manutactun-r  purchased  some  Surat  at  13d  per  lb.  '  ot  only  was  it 
sh  rt  in  ultiuiate  staple,  but  before  this  ultimate  staple  could  be  arrived  at,  it  had  lost  50  per 
cent  in  the  process— a  costly  process  too — of  (.leaning — so  that  the  cleaned  Indian  cotton 
in  reality  cost  the  manufacturer  2t)d.  per  lb.— or  very  nearly  the  pre.sent  price  of  middling 
New  Orleans.  Now,  the  New  Orleans  would  not  only  have  been  much  more  cheaply 
worked  up  in  all  the  subsequent  processes,  and  would  have  been  much  more  willingly,  and 
therefore,  in  the  end,  more  ecoiiomica  ly,  manipulated  by  the  .workmen,  but  would  have  pro- 
d  iced  a  decidedly  superior  article  in  the  end. 

China  cotton  is  quite  as  biul  as  that  of  India.  A  strong  dislike  has 
arisen  to  it.  from  the  great  ti mount  of  damaged  and  half-rotten  cot- 
ton mixed  in  the  bah^"- — the  ]"t\siiit  of  putting  water  info  them  in 
China  to  increase  the  weight.  Most  of  the  lots  have,  upon  landing 
in  England,  to  be  unpacked  and  made  merchantable,  at  much  expense 
and  loss  of  time,  and  great  difficulties  are  experienced  in  settling  for 
arrival  and  delivery.  Smyrna  and  Turkish  cotton  generally  has  sunk 
in  estimation  and  become  very  difficult  of  sale.  It  is  of  "  wasty" 
staphs  which,  with  its  inflammable  natiu'e,  makes  it  better  suited  for 
candle-wicks  than  any  thing  e'se.  The  operatives  do  not  like  to  woj-k 
these  inferior  cottons,  in  consequi'iice  of  the  large  quantity  of  dirt 
and  "cotton  dust"  thiown  out.  That  dirt  and  dust  they  are  obliged 
to  inhale,  and  it  produces  disease  of  the  lungs  and  other  maladies. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  stocks  now  held  in  Europe  consists  of  tiiese 
inferior  cottons.     Some  of  the  cotton,  if  ever.sold,  will  not  ietch  the 


S9 

cost  of  freight;  it  is  so  worthless.  Yet  every  "  bale,"  no  matter  how 
small — no  matter  what  kind  of  cotton  it  contains — is  set  down  in  the 
published  accounts  as  a  "  bale"  of  cotton.  Every  pound  of  "  rub- 
bish" too  that  is  imported  is  rated  as  a  "pound"  of  cotton. 

Short-staple  cotton,  while  it  answers  very  well  for  hand-made 
goods,  will  not  meet  the  requirements  of  machinery,  except  in  very 
small  quantities.  As  before  remarked,  the  altering  of  ihe  machinery 
of  some  of  the  mills  to  spin  Surat  cotton,  proved  likewise  an  advan- 
tage in  working  American  cotton.  The  change  in  machinery  did 
not  of  course  improve  the  character  of  the  inferior  cotton.  A  few 
years  before  the  dissolution  of  the  Federal  Union,  Mr.  J.  B.  Smith,  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  Stockport,  lead  a  paper  before 
the  London  Society  of  Arts,  which  explained  the  nature  of  tlie  kinda 
of  cotton  used  by  British  mills.  Since  the  American  war  com- 
menced, Mr.  Smith,  as  well  as  all  the  other  members  of  that  body, 
who  favor  tlKi  Federal  cause,  has  been  silent  upon  the  subject,  and 
they'will  reniain  silent  «o  long  as  the  Confederacy  permits  cotton  to 
reach  thern  in  sufficient  quantities  to  mix  with  the  poor  cottons  they 
obtain  from  other  countries.  It  has  already  been  explained  how  the 
character  of  British  c<»tton  fobrics  has  deteriorated  since  the  use  of  in- 
ferior cotton  in  larger  proportions  than  formerly.  Here  is  what  Mr. 
Smith  said  six  years  ago  : 

For  practi'-al  pni-])0SPS.  and  to  facilitate  the  comprehension  of  the  snbjV'ct  bj  non-profes- 
sional rt'aders,  \vr  may  staie  in  g-eneral  tenns  that  the  cotton  require-d  for  th»'  trade  of  Gn-at 
Brif«in  may  he  claFsified  into  thret;  divisions — the  long-staj)je,  the  medium-staple,  and  the 
sh(»rt-stMple. 

1  The-lon^  staple,  or  long"  fibre  cotton,  is  nsed  for  making  the  warp,  as  it  is  technically 
callf'd,  i  e.  longitudinal  thr«^ads  of  the  woven  tissuf^.  Tho>«  threads,  when  of  the  finer 
sorts — for  all  numbi-rs,  say  above  5(>s — must  bo  made  of  lonjr-staple  cotton;  for  numbers 
below  5tis  they  may  be  made  of  it,  and  would  be  so  made  were  it  as  cheap  as  the  lower 
qualities  of  th^  raw  maierial.  No  other  quality  of  cotton  is  strong  enough  or  long  enough 
either  to  spin  into  the  hipfher  and  finer  numbers  or  to  sustain  the  tension  and  friction  to 
which  tht'  threads  are  exposed  in  the  loom 

"d  The  medium-staple  cotton,  on  the  contrary,  is  used  partly  for  the  lower  numbers  of 
the  w-irp  (and  as  sut-h  enters  largely  into  the  production  of  the  vast  quantities  of  'cotton 
yarn'  and  sewing  thread  exported),  but  mainly  for  the  weft,  or  transverse  threads  of  the 
woven  tissue.  It  is  softer  and  silkier  than  the  quality  spoken  of  abctve,  makes  a  fuller  and 
rounder  thread,  and  fills  up  the  fabric  better.  The  long-staple  article  is  never  used  for  this 
purpi-se,  and  cuuiu  not,  however  eheap,  be  so  used  with  advantage;  it  is  ordinarily  too 
harsh.  For  the  warj),  strength  and  length  of  fibre  is  required;  for  the  wett,  soitness  and 
fullness.  Now.  as  the  lower  numbers  of  'yarn"  require  a  r;ir  larger  amount  of  raw  cotton 
for  their  production  than  the  higher,  and  constitute  tlie  chief  portion  (in  weight)  borh  of  our 
export  and  consumption,  and  as,  moreover,  every  yard  of  caiico  or  cotton-woven  fabric, 
tec-hnically  called  cloth,  is  compo.sed  of  from  two  to  five  time.s  as  much  weft  as  warp,  it  is 
ob%ious  that  we  need  a  far  larger  supply  of  this  peculiar  character  of  cotton,  the  medium- 
staple,  <thau  of  any  other. 

3.  The  short-staple  cotton  is  used  almost  exclusively  for  weft  (except  a  little  taken  for 
candle-wicks),  or  for  the  very  lowest  numbers  of  warp,  say  lOs  and  under,  but  is  different 
iti"  cliaraeter  irom  the  second  description,  as  well  as  shorter  iu  fibre ;  it  is  drier,  fuzzier- 
more  like  rough  wool;  arid  it  cannot  be  substituted  for  it  witliout  impoverishing  the  nature 
of  the  clotir,  and  making  it.  esjsecially  after  washing  or  bleaching,  look  thinner  and  more 
rnipa'gre;  and  for  t]i«  same  reason  it  can  only  be  blended  with  it  with  much  caution,  and  in 
very. moderate  proportions.  But  its  color  is  usually  good,  and  its  comparative  cheapness  its 
great  rei  oniiuejidalion. 

^It  will  be  sien,  therefore,  that  while  we  require  fot  the  purposes  of  our  manufactures  a 
limited  quantity ol  th«  first  and  third  qualities  of  raw  cotton,  we  need  and  can  consume  aQ 
aimost  unlimited  supply  of  the  second  quality.  In  this  fact  iies  our  nal  difhculty;  for, 
while  several  (jit.irters  of  the  world  supply  the  first  sort,  and  India  could  su]>ply  enormous 
quatftities  of  the  third  sort,  the  United  States  of  America  alone  have  hitherto  produced  the 
second  and  nio.stiteces.sary  kind.  ,  . 

1.  The  finest  long  eotton  iu  the  world  is  called  tlie  *  Sea  Island.'  It  is  grown  on  the  low- 
lying  lands  and  small  islands  on  the  coast  of  Georgia.     The  quantity  is  smnll,  and  the  price 


60 

very  high.  It  is  used  mostly  for  muslin  thread,  and  the  very  finest  numbers  of  yarn — say 
100  and  upwards ;  and  price,  in  fact,  is  of  little  moment  to  the  manufacturers  who  purchase 
it.  It  usually  sells  at  about  two  shillings  per  pound  A  quality  much  resembling  it,  and 
ahnost  if  not  quite  as  good,  has  been  grown,  as  a  sample  article,  in  Australia.  But  of  this 
denomination  of  cotton  the  consumptiou  is  very  small.  Another  species — long,  strong,  fine, 
and  yellowish — is  grown  in  Egypt,  and  imported  in  considerable^  (luaritilies  An  inferior 
quality — coarse,  harsh,  bright  in  color,  but  strong — is  imported  from  Brazil,  and  a  ver}^  small 
quantity  from  the  West  Indies.  Doubtless  if  the  price  were  adequate,  and  the  demand  here 
very  great  and  steady,  the  supply  from  many  of  these  quarters  might  be  largely  augmented. 
But  it  is  not  of  this  sort  thai  we  need  any  considerable  increase,  nor  could  we  afford  the 
price  which  probably  alone  would  remunerate  the  grower. 

2.  Our  great  consumption  and  demand  is  for  the  soft,  white,  silky,  moderately  long  cot- 
ton of  America — the  quality  usually  called  *  [Jplands,'  'Bowed  Georgia,'  and  'New  Orleans.' 
This  used  to  be  sold  at  prices  varying  from  3d  to  6d  per  pound  (it  is  now  from  6d  to  8d);  it 
can  be  consumed  in  any  quantity,  for  it  is  available  not  only  for  weft,  but  for  warp,  except 
for  the  finer  numbers.  We  need  and  consume  nine  bags  of  this  cotton  for  one  bag  of  ail 
other  qualities  put  together. 

3.  It  is  the  insufficient  supply,  or  the  higher  price  of  this  cotton,  that  has  driven  our  ma- 
nufacturers upon  the  short-stapled  native  article  of  India,  called  Surat.  If  the  price  of  the 
two  were  equal,  scarcely  a  bag  of  Surat  would  be  employed.  When  the  price  of  American 
cotton  rises,  owing  to  an  inadequate  supply,  that  of  East  India  cotton  follows  it  at  a  con- 
siderable interval — the  usual  ratio  being  two  to  three — and  the  import  of  the  latter  is  greatly 
stimulated.  It  is  always  grown  in  India  in  large  quantities,  and  with  improved  means 
of  communication,  and  more  careful  preparation,  might  be  supplied  in  time  in  indefinite 
and  probably  ample  quantities.  But  it  is  the  quality  that  is  in  fault,  and,  as  far  as  the  past 
is  a  guide,  it  would  seem  incurably  in  fault.  Many  attempts  to  amend  the  character  of  this 
cottun  have  been  made.  American  planters  and  American  "  Saw  gins"  have  been  sent  over, 
and  American  seed  has  been  planted;  and  the  result  has  been  a  sensible  amelioration  in 
cleanliness  and  color,  and  some  slight  increase  in  length  of  fibre,  but  scarcely  any  change 
in  specific  character..  The  dry,  fuzzy,  woolly  charaeleristics  remain.  Sometimes  the  first 
year's  samj)les  ncfirly  resemble  the  American  article,  but  the  resemblance  never  becomes 
permanent.  Hitherto  (we  believe  we  are  correct  in  stating),  either  from  the  peculiarity  of 
the  soil  or  of  the  cHmate,  or,  as  some  say,  from  adulteration  by  the  air-borne  pollen  of  the 
inferior  native  plant,  the  improved  and  altered  character  of  the  cotton  has  never  been 
kept  up. 

We  are  far  from  saying  that  this  difficulty  may  not  be  overcome,  and  American  cotton  be 
naturalized  in  our  East  Indian  possessions  ;  but  certainly  the  results  of  our  past  efforts  have 
not  been  of  favoraV)le  augury  So  far  as  our  own  observation  and  experience  have  gone, 
only  from  two  other  parts  of  the  world  have  we  seen  samples  of  cotton  analogous  in  charac- 
ter to  that  of  the  United  States,  and  equally  available  for  our  purpose-* :  one  of  these  was 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  where,  we  understand,  there  is  a  considerable  native  growth,  which 
doubtless  our  commerce  might  encourage  and  increa.se;  the  other  is  the  opposite  side  of  the 
C(mtinent,  where  Port  Natal  has  exported  some  very  hopeful  samples,  soft  and  silky,  but 
not  clean  nor  of  a  very  good  color,  but  still  decidedly  American  in  quality. 

The  point  we  have  to  bear  in  mind,  then,  is  this:  our  desideratum  is  not  simply  more 
cotton,  but  more  cotton  of  the  same  character  and  price  as  that  now  imported  froin  the 
States.  If  India  were  to  send  us  2,000,000  bales  of  Surat  cotton  per  annum,  the  desidera- 
tum would  not  be  supplied,  and  our  perilous  problem  would  be  still  unsolved.  We  should 
be  almost  as  dependent  on  American  as  ever. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  future,  will  be  "far  from  saying"  that  the  difficulty 
of  "naturalizing"  American  cotton  in  the  East  Indies  has  been  "  over- 
come." He  might  with  almost  equal  propriety  have  mentioned  Kew 
Gardens  in  the  neighborhood  of  London,  where  specimens  of  the  plant 
are  grown  under  glass,  as  a  source  of  supply  for  cotton,  as  the  other 
countries  which  he  has  named.  Further  on,  in  this  paper,  some  im- 
portant evidence  will  be  adduced  in  reference  to  this  matter.  The  idea 
of  "  naturalizing"  American  cotton  in  India  is  entirely  fallacious,  for  the 
very  plant  that  now  flourishes  vigorously  in  the  Southern  States  was 
brought  from  the  Barbadoes,  but  owing  to  the  change  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate has  altered  so  much  from  its  oiiginal  stock  as  almost  to  deserve 
the  name  of  another  variety.  The  difference  between  the  soil  and 
climate  of  the  Southern  States  and  India  is  even  greater  than  that 
between  the  Southern  States  and  Barbadoes.  While  the  change  to 
the  Southern  States  benefited  the  plant,  the  change  to  India  is  known 
to  deteriorate  it. 


61 


The  subjoined  table  gives  particulars  of  the  Southern  cotton  crops : 

The  Cotton  Crops  of  the  Southern  States — 1790  to  I860,  inclusive. 

(  Tbe  crop  is  planted  and  gathered  within  the  calendar  year.     The  exportation  is  continued  to  th.^  tnonth 
of  July  in  the  following  year.    The  export  column  refers  to  the  year  in  which  the  cotton  was  prodoced.) 


YEAR. 

Crop. 

Price. 

Vahi«. 

Exported. 

Value 
of  Exports. 

Lbs. 

Cents. 

Dollars 

Lbs. 

Dollars. 

179U, 

1  500  000 

30 

450  (>0(» 

189  316 

57  000 

1791, 

2  (too  000 

29 

580  000 

138  238 

5.S(toO 

1792, 

3  000  000 

26 

78i'(J0() 

500  0(J(J 

13OOU0 

1793, 

5  000  000 

35 

1  750  0(0 

1  601  760 

612  500 

1794, 

8  000  000 

45 

3  5u0  000 

6  276  300 

28  i  500 

1795, 

8  000  000 

'      33 

2  640  000 

6  J  00  000 

2  000  000 

179(), 

1(1000  000 

33 

3  300  000 

3  SO(tO0O 

1  200  (»00 

1797, 

1 1  000  000 

32 

3  520  OLIO 

9  33(iO(»0 

3  (KM)  (too 

1798, 

15  000  000 

33 

4  950  000 

9  500  000 

3  200  (JOG 

1799, 

20  000  000 

45 

9(MJ0  000 

17  789  803 

8  000  000 

18U0, 

35  000  000 

:i5 

8  750  000 

20  900  000 

7  000  000 

11,-^  50(1  000 

39  220  000 

76  125  417 

25  540  000 

1801, 

48  000  (too 

44 

21  120  000 

27  5(»o  000 

12  500  000 

1802, 

55  000  000 

22 

12  100000 

41  900  000 

9  500  000 

1803, 

60(J()0O00 

21 

J2(ioooou 

;W9oo  (too 

8  000  000 

1804, 

65  000  000 

24 

15  600  (M)0 

40  330  (too 

|OO(MHM»0 

180:"), 

70  OOU  000 

26 

]-(2o(»  0(10 

37  500  000 

9  500  000 

181.6, 

80»^0(M)JiO 

25 

20  000  000 

(56  200  000 

16  5(JO0O0 

1807, 

80  000  000 

24 

J  9  200  000 

12(J0(WJOO 

3  00O(jO0 

1808, 

75  0(10  000 

17 

12  750  000 

53  200  01  (» 

9  000  000 

1809, 

82  000  000 

17 

13  940  0(10 

93  200<i00 

16  000  000 

1810, 

85  000  000 

17 

14  450  000 

62  200<H<o 

10  500  000 

700  000  000 

- 

i.-iODiioooo 

472  930  000 

104  500  000 

1811, 

80  000O00 

15.50 

12  400  000 

29  000  000 

4  00OO00 

1812, 

75  000  (JO(J 

9.50 

7  125  0(10 

19  000  000 

2  000  000 

181-3, 

■  75  000  000 

10.20 

7  520  000 

17  000  000 

1  700  000 

1814, 

70  000  000 

8.25 

5  620  (»(»() 

83  0O0(>00 

7  000  OOO 

18J5, 

100  000  000 

20 

20  (too  000 

81  (KJOOOO 

16  5O(»0O0 

1816, 

124(JOO000 

30 

37  200  ()(!(» 

<J,j600  000 

29O00(J00 

1817, 

130  000  000 

24 

31  20(M»oo 

92  5(»0  0(to 

22  000  000 

1818, 

125  000  000 

30 

37  5(^0  000 

8"*000  0(»0 

27  0OO(J00 

1819, 

167  000  000 

25 

41  75O0(J0 

127  800  000 

32  000  000 

1820, 

160(X)0  000 

16.2 

27  000  000 

124.893  405 

20  157  484 

1  106  000  000 

- 

227  315  000 

757  793  405 

161  357  484 

1821, 

180  000  000 

16.6 

29  000  000 

144  675  095 

•  24  035  058 

1822, 

210  000  000 

11.8 

23  500  000 

173  723  270 

20  445  020 

1823, 

185  000  000 

15.4 

28  000  000 

142  369  663 

21  947  401 

1824, 

215  000  000 

20.9 

4:')  000  oo(j 

176  449  907 

36  486  649 

1825, 

22")  000  000 

12.2 

27  000  000 

204  535  415 

25  025  214 

1826, 

250  000  000 

10 

25  000  000 

294  310  115 

29  359  545 

1827, 

270  000  000 

10.7 

28  0(10  000 

210  590  463 

22  487  229 

1828, 

325  000  000 

10 

32  500  000 

264  837  186 

26  575  311 

1829, 

365  000  000 

9.9 

33  000  000 

298  459  102 

29  674  883 

1830, 

350  000  000 

9.1 

31  500  000 

276  979  784 

25  289  492 

2  575  000  000 

- 

300  500  000 

2  186  930  000 

261  325  802 

62 


The  Cotton  Crop  from  1790  to  1860— Continued. 


YEAR. 

Crop. 

Price. 

Value. 

Exported. 

Value 
of  Exports. 

Lbs. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Lbs. 

Pollars.  * 

18:^]. 

385  000  000 

9.8 

35  000  000 

322  215122 

31  724  682 

^='x^  • 

390  000  000 

11.1 

42  900  000 

324  698  604 

36191  105 

jrrj.;, 

445  000  (100 

12  8 

54  000  000 

384  7 J7  907 

49  448  402 

{^M. 

460  000  000 

16  8 

74  000  000 

387  358  992 

64  961  302 

i8:i^, 

550  0(10  000 

16.8 

88  000  000 

423  631  307 

7 1  284  925 

]8:-u. 

570  000  000 

14.2 

80  0()0  000 

444  21 1  537 

63  240  102 

I'^.U, 

720  000  000 

10.3 

72  00'0  000 

595  952  297 

.  615G6  811 

i8.;s, 

545  000  000 

14.8 

76  500  000 

413  624  212 

i^X  238  982 

]  8;iy, 

87]  134  000 

8.5 

69  700  000 

743  94]  061 

63  870  3^)7 

1840, 

653  978  (m) 

10.2 

65.500  000 

530  204  100 

54  330  341 

5  590  J 12  000 

- 

657  600  000 

4  570  555  139 

557  856  959 

1841, 

673  4-29  600 

8.1 

53  850  000 

584  717  017 

47  593  464 

184-i, 

55]  O50  000 

6.2 

33  120  000 

792  297  106 

49  119  806 

1843, 

8]  2]  63  600 

8.1 

65  000  000 

663  633  455 

54  063  501 

)84i, 

957  801200 

5,92 

57  500  000 

872  905  096 

51739  643 

]H45, 

840  214  800 

7.81 

67  000  000 

547  558  055 

42  767  341 

r-^16. 

7]]-460  400 

10.34 

71  300  0{;0 

527  219  958 

53.415  818 

1847, 

939  053  600 

7.61 

%  65  775  000 

814  274  431 

61  998  294 

1848, 

]  091  437  600 

64 

61  620  000 

1  026  602  269 

66  396  967 

1849, 

838  682  400 

11.3 

92  300  000 

635  381  604 

71984  616 

1850, 

942  )  02  800 

12.1] 

113  050  000 

927  237  08  J 

112  315  317 

8  357  896  000 

- 

680  515  000 

7  391  826  980 

611  394  797 

■ 

1851, 

1  206  01 1  600 

8.05 

96  500  000 

1  093  230  639 

87  965  7  32 

]85'2, 

]  305  152  800 

9.85 

130  000  000 

1111570  370 

109  456  404 

1853, 

1  172  010  800 

9.47 

1  ]  ]  350  000 

987  833  106 

93  596  2^0 

1854, 

1  138  935  600 

8  74 

99  650  000 

1  008  424  601 

88  143  844 

1855, 

1  411  138  000 

9.49 

14]  100  000 

1351  43]  701 

128  382  351 

1856, 

1  175  807  600 

12.55 

147  000  000 

1  048  282  475 

131575  859 

J  857, 

1  245  584  800 

11.70 

146  300  000 

1  118  624  012 

131  386  661 

1858, 

1  606  800  000 

11.75 

188  700  000 

1  372  755  006 

161434  923 

1859, 

2  078  777  000 

10.85 

228  690  000 

1  767  Q>6{\  3;58 

191  806  555 

1860, 

}  645  238  700 

1107 

181500  000 

1  407  405  600 

155  000  000 

13  985  456  900 

- 

1  470  790  000 

12  267  243  848 

1  278  748  549 

Recapitulation. 


DATE 

Crops. 

Value. 

Exported. 

Value  of  Exp'ts. 

Lbs. 

D..llars. 

Lbs. 

Dollars 

1790  to  1800, 

118  500  000 

39  220  000 

76  125  417 

25  540  000 

180]  to  18]0, 

700  000  000 

159  960  000 

472  930  000 

104  50iOO00 

1811  to  1820, 

I  i(!;;  000  000 

227  315  000 

757  793  40'5 

161  357  484 

1821  to  1830, 

2  575  000  000 

300  500  000 

2  186  930  000 

261  325  802 

1831  to  1810, 

5' 590  112  000 

657  (iOO  000 

'4  570  55,5  1:^ 

.557  856  959 

1841  to  1850, 

8  357  896  000 

680  515  000 

.  7  391  826  980 

611  394  797 

1851  to  1860, 

13  985  4'56  900 

1  470  990  000 

12  267  243  848 

1  278  748  54i^ 

32  432  964  900 

3  536  100  000 

27  723  404  789 

3  000  723  59i 

63 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  table,  that  six-sevenths  of  all  the 
cotton  that  has  been  grown  in  the  Southern  States  was  exported  to 
foreign  countries,  and  that  the  remaining  one-seventh  has  been  con- 
sumed in  the  States  of  production  and  the  more  NortlKTii  States  of 
the  late  Federal  Union.  .  The  average  quantity  of  cotton  consumed 
each  year  by  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  States,  North  and  South,  was 
12  pounds  per  head.  Of  that  quantity,  the  greater  proportion  was 
consumed  in  the  Southern  States.  Very  little  economy  has  hitherto 
been  practiced  in  the  use  of  raw  cotton  in  those  States.  It  was  so 
plenty  on  the  plantations  and  so  cheap  in  the  home  maikns,  that 
much  was  wasted  every  year.  As  prices  are  likely  to  rui«-  high  for 
some  time  to  come,  it  will  be  well  if  in  future  more  care  is  taken  of 
the  staple.  The  Southern  States  hefore  the  war  were  large  importers 
of  European  and  Yankee  textile  fabrics  of  all  kinds.  Being  in  a 
measure  cut  off  from  the  usual  supplies,  and  not  beinir  cultivators  of 
flax  or  wool  to  any  great  extent,  they  have  been  conipelled  to  use 
cotton  goods  as  a  substitute  for  those  manufactured  from  other  ma- 
terials. The  quantity  of  cotton  consumed  in  the  place  of  leather 
must  also  be  very  great,  not  to  speak  of  that  required  for  tents, 
wagon  covers,  and  the  like.  The  home  consumption  then,  of  raw 
cotton,  must  come  up  to  -50,000  bales  a  month,  or  ()0(),000  bales  per 
annum,  to  say  nothing  of  the  wastage  that  is  ijoing  on  at  a  rapid 
rate.  Cotton  is  not  a  perishable  article  when  properly  bahnl  and 
stored  in  warehouse;  but  when  not  taken  care  of,  it  speedily  danjairrs, 
deteriorates  in  quality,  and  loses  in  weight  prodiiiiotisiy.' The  table 
includes  the  growth  and  exportation  of  Se;i  Isl.ind  cotton.  The  seed 
for  that  description  of  cotton  was  introduced  froni  t;  e  Bahamas  in 
17S5,  and  its  culture  hns  been  greatly  improved  by  "  naturjilization." 
The  crops  do  not  increase  in  extent;  they  were  nearlv  as  large  in  the 
early  part  of  the  century  as  they  were  in  1  (iO.  Tlw  annual  yield 
is  about  12,000.000  pounds;  which  is  fully  equal  to  the  demand. 

It  is  now  only  ninety-two  years  since  fabrics  made  entirely  of  cot- 
ton were  first  manufactured  in  Enahind.     At  that  tiin»' — 177 the 

raw  material  was  imported  to  the  extent  of  about  4,000,000  pounds 
wei-rht  a  year  from  the  West  Indies  and  the  MiMJitcrraneii!).  The 
Southern  States  contributed  their  rirst  su[)ply  in  17s4,  when  eight 
bags  were  exported  fiom  Charleston  to  Liver|)o.ol.  They  were  stikd 
by  the  custom  hoose  authorities  there,  under  the  belief  that  th.y 
were  of  colonial  growth,  and  that  their  importation  was,  therefore, 
in  violation  of  the  then  existing  navioation  laws.  They  weie  re- 
leased so  soon  as  it  was  nsceiiaine<l  that  cotton  could  be  grown  in 
the  Southern  States.  There  h;id  been  exported  from  Charleston  in 
1748,  7  bags,  and  in  1770,  10  bags  of  cott4jn.  These  two  invoices 
w^ere  probably  of  island  growth  ;  at  all  events  thev  attracted  no  at- 
tention, as  South  <  "arolin.i  was,  when  the  shipnj<'iirs  weie  mad^-,  a^ 
dependency  of  Gr(>at  Britain.  \N  ith  the  exce]»tion  of  the  100,0  0 
pounds  of  Indian  cotton,  received  v  a  Ostend  in  17S7,  the  first 
supply  of  Surats  was  landed  in  England  in  179S.  England  hail 
hitherto  been  an  importer  of  cotton  yarn  as  well  ys  piece  goods  fvoiti 
India.  Tlie  increase  afterwards  in  her  cotton  trade  will  be  seen  by 
the  following  table  : 


64 


British  Imports  of  Raw  Cotton,  1800  to  1863. 

fill  th"  sooord  and  third  columuj*  of  this  table  three  figui-es  are  omitted  on  the  right  hand,  so  that  millioniB 
of  pounds  weight  read  as  thousands,] 


Col.  2. 

Col.  3. 

Col.  2. 

Col.  3. 

YEARS. 

Iiup<>rted  into 

Impnrtcifrom 

YEARS. 

Imported  into 

Imported  from 

the  United 

tlie  SoutQern 

tr.e  United 

the  Southern 

Kingdom. 
55675 

Stales. 

Kingdom. 

States. 

J  801, 

18  953 

1833. 

808  656 

237  50& 

J  802, 

60  '4M) 

28  478 

1834, 

826  875, 

269  20;* 

!  ^08, 

58  427 

27  757 

1835, 

368  702 

284  4.55 

1804. 

61  816 

25  770 

1886, 

406  959 

289  615 

1805, 

59  (;49 

82  661 

1887, 

407  286 

320  651 

l-'OG, 

57  982 

24  255 

1838, 

■   507  850 

431  487 

1807, 

74  786 

58180 

1889, 

389  896 

311597 

1808, 

48  268 

7  992 

1840, 

'   592  488 

487  856 

* 

1809, 

91  701 

13  865 

1810, 

184  805 

86  171 

1841, 

487  992 

358  240 

1842, 

531  7.50 

414  030 

1811, 

91:^»08 

46  772 

1848, 

678198 

574  73S 

1812, 

61  563 

26  086 

1844, 

646  111 

517  218 

1818, 

_ 

1845, 

721  979 

626  650 

1814, 

•58  887 

- 

1846, 

467  856 

401  940 

1815, 

98  790 

45  669  , 

1847. 

474  707 

864  599 

1616, 

98  685 

57  798 

1848, 

718  020 

600  247 

1817, 

124  808 

52  668 

1849, 

755  469 

684  504 

1818, 

177  178. 

()5  985 

1850, 

m:i  576 

498  153 

1819, 

149  467 

()3  675 

18-20, 

149  822 

89  999 

1851, 

757  ,379 

596  63» 

1852,  • 

929782 

765  680 

1821, 

182  58(i 

98  470 

1853. 

895  278 

658  451 

1822, 

142  887 

10]  181 

1854, 

887  833 

722  151 

1823, 

191  402 

142  582 

1855, 

891  7;>2 

681  629 

1824, 

149  880 

92  187 

1856, 

1  028  886 

780  040 

?82.5, 

228  005 

189  908 

18.57, 

969  819 

654  75& 

1^26, 

177  ()07 

i  80  858 

1858, 

1  084  842 

833  288 

1827; 

272  448 

216  924 

1859, 

1  225  989 

961  707 

1828, 

227  760 

151752 

1860, 

1  890  989 

1115  891 

1829, 

222  767 

157  187 

183u, 

2o8  961 

210  885 

1861, 

1  256  985 

830  000 

1862, 

.528  973 

84  042 

1831, 

288  674 

219  333 

1863, 

669  583 

61748 

1832, 

286  882 

219  756 

The  exportations  of  raw  cotton  from  the  United  Kingdom  to  Con- 
tinental Europe,  are  chiefly  of  East  Indian  sorts,  which  can  be  used 
there  as  in  England,  in  small  portions,  with  that  of  the  growth  of 
the  Southern  Slates.  It  is  the  use  of  American  cotton  that  creates  a 
demand  for  Indian  cotton.  So,  without  the  American  staple  the 
British  trade  with  India  must  diminish — shrink  back  to  its  former 
limited  extent.  It  has  ah'eady  been  stated  that  the  chief  exports  to 
India  are  of  Manchester  goods  made-  out  of  American  cotton.  A 
period,  therefore,  is  sure  to  be  reached  when  both  the  import  and 
export  trade  between  Great  Britain  and  India  will  be  of  small  mo- 
ment, unless  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  raw  material  is  again  con- 
tributed by  the  Southern  States,  England  has  already  parted  with 
her  enormous  stocks  of  cotton  goods  made  from  good  cotton.  Their 
Bale  has  placed  her  in  specie  funds.  These  funds  she  has,  in  a  great 
jiieasure,  foolishly  squandered  in  the  Eust  in  buying  an  inferior  staple, 


65 

and  in  the  hope  of  opening  up  new  sources  of  supply  for  cotton. 
The  gold  and  silver  thus  transferred  will  never  be  returned  to  her.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  ryots  in  India  and  the  fellahs  in  Egypt  bury 
their  money.  They  not  only  like  to  hide  their  wealth  from  fear  of 
their  governments  placing  additional  burdens  upon  them  in  the  way 
of  taxation,  but  it  has  always  been  a  custom  among  them  so  to  do. 
That  feeling  of  dislike  to  parting  with  gold  and  silver  is  not  confined 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  East.  It  exists  on  the  Western  Continent. 
It  would  have  been  much  better  for  the  people  of  tlu-se  States,  if 
every  ounce  of  gold  had  been  sent  to  Europe  and  the  Nortii  to  pur- 
cha.se  supplies,  than  that  cotton  should  have  been  sent  out  so  lavishly 
these  past  eighteen  months. 

The  sources  of  the  British  cotton  supply,  at  the  time  when  the 
manufacture  of  that  staple  was  beginning  to  assume  dimensions  of 
national  importance,  were  the  British,  French,  Spanish,  Dutch  and 
Portuguese  colonies,  which  furnished  three-fourths  the  entire  quantity. 
In  all  these  colonies  agricultural  labor  was  performed  by  slaves  ex- 
clusively. The  very  small  quantity  then  obtained  from  the  East 
Indies,  through  Ostend,  may  be  altogether  disregarded.  And  the  re- 
mainder— less  than  one-fourth  of  the  whole — received  from  Smyrna 
and  Turkey,  can  scarcely  be  set  down  as  the  fruit  of  free  labor.  The 
relative  per  centage  of  each  source  of  supply  soon  afterwards  changed. 
Of  the  entire  quantity  of  cotton  imported  into  Great  Britain  in  1^:24, 
the  Southern  States,  Brazil  and  the  West  Indies,  all  using  only  slave 
labor,  furnished  79  per  cent.  Turkey  and  Egypt,  G^  per  cent.  The 
East  Indies,  9  per  cent.;  and  other  countries  al)OUt  5  per  cent.  Sub- 
sequently, the  Southern  States  increased  their  portion  to  S5  per 
cent.,  and  supi>lied  the  Continent  of  Euro[)e  and  the  Northern  States 
with  most  of  their  cotton.  It  is  a  fact  that  there  is  not,  and  never 
has  been  any  considerable  source  of  supply  for  cotton,  excepting  the 
East  Indies,  which  is  not  obviously  and  exclusively  maintained  by 
slave  labor.  The  value  of  the  exception  is  of  little  moment,  and  of 
still  less  importance  when  it  is  considered  that  the  condition  of  the 
ryot  does  not  appear  to  be  such  as  to  impart  to  his  O[)erations,  either 
as  a  laborer  for  hire,  or  as  an  independent  cotton  grower,  the  produc- 
tive advantages  that  are  associated  with  free  labor.  He  is,  in  fact, 
elevated  but  little  above  a  slave. 

On  August  13th,  18G2,  there  was  held  in  London  a  conference  be- 
tween a  deputation  from  the  Cotton  Supply  Association  and  the 
"Commissioners  and  other  representatives  of  countries  showing  raw 
cotton  in  the  International  Exhibition."  As  very  little  publicity 
was  given  to  the  proceedings,  a  few  extracts  from  the  report  printed 
for  private  circulation,  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Mr.  J.  Cheetham, 
the  Chairman,  said : 

It  does  so  happen,  gentlemen,  at  this  precise  moment,  when  the  representatives  of  in- 
dustry, and  of  capital,  and  of  enterprise  from  every  part  of  the  world  are  gathered  together 
in  this  country,  that,  as  regards  the  great  leading  manufacture — the  one  upon  which  the 
prosperity,  and  to  a  great  extent,  the  greatness  of  England  depends — it  does  so  happen  that 
this  staple  and  leading  manufacture  is  at  the  present  moment  in  a  position  unexampled  in 
lU  history,  and  one,  the  prospect  of  which  I,  as  an  individual,  look  forward  to  for  the 
next  few  months  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  anxiety,  if  not  of  despair.  You  are  aware, 
g^tlemen,  that  this  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about  by  th«  civil  war  in  America. 
9 


66 

America  has  been  the  main  supplier  of  cotton  to  the  industrious  operatives  not  only  of 
Enghuit],  but  of  the  whole  world,  and  the  present  position  in  which  the  cotton  cultivation 
of  that  conntiy  is  placed — though  expected  at  some  more  distant  time  to  have  arisen  from 
an  insurrection  of  the  slaves — has  unexpectedly  been  occasioned  by  dispute  and  animosity 
among  Americans  themselves. 

Mr.  Stephen  Cave,  M.  P.,  an  abolitionist,  and  the  only  member  of 
the  House  of  Commons  who  has  had  the  candor  to  declare  that 
♦*  while  there  has  been  a  great  change  in  English  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery,  he  believes  that  there  is  yet  no  Englishmen  in  favor 
of  reopening  the  African  slave  trade,"  was  one  of  the  speakers.  Mr. 
Cave  represented  the  West  India  interest  at  the  Cotton  Conference. 
He  said : 

I  have  taken  some  pains  in  looking  through  the  accounts  of  former  years,  and  I  find  that 
the  whole  prodiice  of  all  the  West  Indies  was  from  ten  to  twelve  millions  of  pounds  of  cot- 
ton. That  is  a  very  small  quantity,  of  course,  compared  with  the  whole  import  of  some 
thousands  of  millions  of  pounds,  which  is  the  present  import  of  cotton  into  this  country; 
but  in  those  days  it  was  considered  of  more  importance  than  at  present  it  appears  to  be. 
With  regard  to  the  future,  I  can  only  echo  what  has  been  stated  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Marsh, 
that  price  and  labor  are  the  two  elements  which  we  are  to  look  to  in  this  question.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  every  island  in  the  W^est  Indies  can  grow  cotton  perfectly  well.  The  Grena- 
dines, a  group  of  small  islands  off  the  coast  of  St.  V^incent,  of  which  that  is  the  principal, 
grew  most  excellent  Sea  Island  cotton.  At  the  time  of  the  emancipation,  negroes  who 
grew  that  cotton  got  tired  of  living  on  small  patches  of  land,  and  they  went  off  to  the 
neighboring  island  of  St.  Vincent  for  society,  and  the  production  of  cotton  was  almost 
entliely  given  up  in  the  other  colonies,  for  the  same  reason  that  we  were  brought  more 
rapidly  into  competition  with  slave  grown  cotton  than  with  slave  grown  sugar;  conse- 
quently, sugar  paid  better  for  a  longer  period  in  the  West  Indies  than  cotton  did.  We  know 
that  sugar  does  not  pay  very  well  now,  and  therefore  the  people  of  that  country  are  quite 
willing  to  turn  their  attention  to  any  thing  which  they  imagine  will  give  them  abetter  return 
for  thfir  capital  than  sugar  does  at  the  present  moment.  Now  the  colony  of  British  Guiana 
was  the  one  which  produced  the  largest  quantity  of  cotton  in  former  days.  I  may  dismiss 
Barbadoes  at  ouce.  because,  although  labor  is  abundant  in  Barbadoes,  and  cotton  could  be 
grown  in  Barbadoes  to  pay,  yet,  in  consequence  of  the  excellence  of  the  soil  for  the  produc- 
tion of  sugar,  I  do  not  think  it  likely  that  the  cultivation  of  I  he  sugar  will  be  given  up  for 
the  cultivadon  of  cotton,  and  there  is  not  enough  laud  for  both.  But  in  British  Guiana 
there  is  any  amount  of  unoccupied  land ;  there  is  also  a  rail  road  there,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  railway  there  is  a  quantity  of  land — and  my  frien  1,  Sir  William  Holmes,  Avill  confirm 
my  testimony — which  is  available  for  growing,  if  not  the  best  cotton,  at  any  rate  the  quahty 
of  cotton  that  this  country  wants  most— the  ordinary  Orleans  cotton.  The  question  is,  how 
is  that  to  be  grown  ?  I  have  but  little  doubt  that  the  present  population  of  Brit'sh  Guiana 
is  totally  inefficient  for  such  a  purpose,  and  negro  labor  cannot  be  relied  on.  We  have 
heard  a  great  deal  about  a  cotton  company  whicli  has  lately  been  established  in  Jamaica, 
and  w(;  have  had  favorable  reports  with  regard  to  it.  I  have  no  doubt  these  reports  are  per- 
fectly correct,  and  I  only  hope  we  shall  have  the  same  kind  of  reports  for  a  year  to  come  ; 
but  i  nmst  say  this  with  regard  to  the  cotton  company,  it  is  a  new  thing,  and  one  knows 
that  negroes  will  turn  with  great  eagerness  to  any  thing  new,  but  after  a  time  they  get  tired 
of  it,  and  give  it  up  for  something  else.  Besides  that,  we  must  remember  that  a  very  large 
number  of  sugar  estates  have  been  abandoned  in  Jamaica,  and  there  is  no  doubt,  therefore, 
that  there  is  a  large  amount  of  available  unoccupied  negro  labor.  If  there  were  a  large 
number  of  cotton  companies  established  in  that  country,  there  would  be  the  same  difficulty 
in  regard  to  the  labor  that  there  was  in  regard  to  the  cultivation  of  sugar,  which  caused 
those  estates  to  be  abandoned,  we  think  it  comes  to  this,  we  must  import  labor.  *  *  * 
I  need  not  say  it  is  not  the  rate  of  wages  so  njuch  as  the  command  oi  labor,  that  is  of  great, 
con.sequence  in  these  things  A  very  low  rate  of  wages  may  ruin  a  man,  if  he  cannot  com- 
mand a  constant  supply,  whereas  a  high  rate  of  wages  may  make  him  rich,  if  he  can  com- 
mand it. 

Mr.  Ridgway,  a  representative  from  Jamaica,  said : 

I  am  also  somewhat  concerned  for  British  Guiana;  but  inasmuch  as  I  stand  in  rather 
an  equivocal  position  in  that  quarter,  I  will  not  say  much  upon  it,  except  that  in  former 
years  British  Guiana  was  a  very  great  cotton  growing  country.  I  have  in  my  hand  a  re- 
turn showing  that  in  the  ten  years  from  1834  to  1844,  there  was  an  immense  falling  oiF. 
Why  ?  Because  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  help,  and  because  a  higher  price  could  be  got 
for  raisin"  sugar  than  for  raising  cotton.  In  the  year  1834  there  were  2,188  bales  exported 
from  l>eiikarara  and  Essequibo,  and  1,188  from  Berbice,  making  a  total  in  that  year  of 
3,376  bales.    Weil,  in  the  course  of  ten  years  it  has  dwindled  down,  till  in  1843  there  wer» 


67 

8  bales  from  Demarara  and  Essequibo,  and  16  from  Berbice— making  a  total  of  24  balea; 
In  the  year  1844  there  was  not  a  single  bale  exported.  Now  that  arises  mainly  from  very 
great  mistakes  that  people  make  in  not  considenng  questions  of  vital  importance  Here 
were  certain  gentlemen  who  were  desirous  of  doing  away  with  the  slave  trade,  and  of  sup- 
pressing negro  cultivation.  If  they  liad  reflected  properly,  as  they  ..ught  to  hav.-  d.uie, 
they  would  have  seen  that  the  course  of  proceeding,  though  very  kindly  intended,  was  very 
prejudicial  to  the  people  themselves,  as  well  as  to  the  mercantile  cnuiiT.unity,  especially  in 
relation  to  this  cotton  question.  Now,  what  we  want  in  the  West  Indies,  in  Jamaica,  and 
British  Guiana,  is  labor. 

Mr.  Kendall,  the  representative  from  Peru,  said : 

The  seed  in  Peru  is  put  into  the  ground  by  hands,  so  that  when  a  plantation,  say  of  six 
miles  in  breadth  is  sowed,  it  may  we:l  be  believed  that  a  large  capital  is  required  to'pav  the 
laborers.  This  is  sensibly  feit  now  that  slavery  is  no  longer  in  use  in  the  republic,  biavery 
was  then  abolished  during  the  last  revolution;  and  although  tiuinauity  has  beeu  a  great 
gaijier,  agriculturists  are  no  sihhII  losers  by  the  operation.  I  luive  been  a.ssured  bv  Mr. 
Quiretana,  that  when  Mr  Elias  had  70(1  negroes  in  his  establishments,  and  one-half  of'  them 
were  eniplo^-ed  in  cultivating  cotton,  his  crops  pn.duced  from  I  l,no(>  to  'iClico  quintals; 
whilst  at  the  present  time  he  can  scarcely  get  in  1(»  or  12.U00  quintals— the  remainder  being 
lost  through  want  of  hands.  As  bearing  upon  this  subject,  it  may  be  here  related  that  in 
former  years  Mr.  Elias  was  actually  accustomed  t<^  purchase  eotton  of  his  own  producing. 
For  instance,  when  the  daily  amount  <.f  labor  allotted  t..  each  negro  was  nvei,  ho  would  pay 
them  a  shilling  for  every  2:>  lbs.  of  cotton  they  brought  in.  as  being  gathered  during  the 
time  which  was  set  apart  for  the  rest  and  recreation  of  the  slave. 

The  Mauritius  is  in  the  same  condition  in  respect  to  labor.  Mr. 
James  Morris,  the  representative  from  that  "  possession,"  said : 

Mauritius  has  sent  a  small  specimen  of  its  cottiiu  to  the  Exhibition,  more  as  a  botanical 
than  as  a  merca-.tile  specimen.  Formerly  the  Mauritius  was  remarkable  for  ihe  beauty  of 
its  cotton.  In  connection  with  its  sister  Island— Hi.urbun— it  e.xported  to  France  a  very 
large  amount  of  cotton,  being  then  a  Freneh  Colony.  In  1790  its  export  was  :i(i(),UOO 
bales.  At  the  present  moment,  like  the  Barbadoes  and' other  West  Indian  Colonies,  the  cid- 
tivatiou  of  sugar  has  displaced  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 

Mr.  Simmonds,  who  represented  Siam  and  Dominica,  said: 

It  seems  to  me,  that  our  South  African  Colonies  have  not  been  .spoken  to  at  all.  I  do  not 
see  Mr.  Sergeant  here,  the  representative  of  Natal.  It  is  a  cotton  producing  country,  and 
it  might  be  made  a  cotton  producing  country  to  a  much  greater  extent,  I  think.  We  have 
specimens  in  the  e.xhibition  of  the  cotton  of  that  Colony:  labor  is  very  plentiful  there,  and 
what  has  been  the  rea.son  of  the  failure  of  an  ample  supply  of  cotton?  It  is  owing  to  the 
uncertainty  of  labor  which  is  to  be  obtained  from  any  saVage  tribe.  The  same  difficulty 
arises  in  the  West  Indies.  We  cannot  get  a  continuoKs  labor  from  the  AtVican  race,  whether 
lu  a  barbarous  (.r  more  civilized  country;  you  cannot  indoctiinate  in  them  tho.se  civilized 
wants  vhich  Enro{»ean  races,  and  especially  the  Anglo-Saxon  raees  exhibit.  Where  a  cli- 
mate pr..duces  f  od  so  abundantly  as  those  climates  do.  and  clothing  is  almost  unnecessary, 
the  people  will  not  work  continuously;  they  will  only  work  bv  tits  and  starts,  and  that  is 
the  greyt  ditttculty  you  have  to  overcome  in  those  countries.  I'belicve  that  Natal  and  parts 
of  South  Atrica  would  produce  cotton  to  a  very  considerable  extent  Tliey  are  endeavoring 
there  to  introduce  laborers  as  the  Mauritius  has  done,  bv  bringing  Cooli'es  from  India.  If 
we  could  glance  over  most  of  tho,>se  colonies  which  we  have  ,<een  producing  cotton  in  the 
Exhibition,  we  should  see  that  a  great  deal  could  be  don  •  if  the  question  of  labor  could  be 
got  over— that  serious  point  which  has  been  already  adverted  to  by  so  many  gentlemen.  It 
of  course  affects. l>oininica,  of  which  I  am  a  representative.  There  are.'fo'r  instance,  the 
Bahamas,  where  a  great  deal  of  cotton  might  l>e  produced.  They  formerly  pr.-duced  a  great 
deal  of  line  cotton,  and  they  now  produce,  in  many  of  their  out-lvitig  islands,  pine  apples, 
vyhich  certainly  do  not  pay  as  well  as  cotton  would  if  it  were  to  "be  cultivated.  The  ques- 
tion is,  where  can  you  get  your  labor? 

Mr.  Walker,  from  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  said : 

As  I  have  been  called  upon,  I  beg  to  offer  a  few  remarks,  and  I  think,  as  a  resident  of 
upwards  of  eleven  years  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa.  I  have  a  right  to  speak  upon  the 
subject.  I  have  carried  on  an  extensive  business  in  the  Gaboon  and  the  neigliborhood  for 
the  last  eleven  years,  and  I  certainly  must  say  from  my  experience,  although  I  know  well 
small  quantities  of  cotton  have  been  produced  under  the  suiieriutendeuce  of  Mr.  Lecompte 
and  other  gentlemen  privately,  as  samples,  and  very  good  samples,  that  it  is  quite  out  of 
the_ question,  and  utterly  impossible,  for  many  years  to  come,  that  anv  quantity  of  cotton 
of  importance  to  commerce  could  be  produced  on  the  W^est  Coast  of  Africa.     I  am  perfectly 


68 

certain,  that  with  the  excf^ption  of  Aberkuta,  and  Lagfos,  and  the  Niga,  which  are  the  only 
points  on  the  coast  of  Africa  capable  of  shipping  cotton  in  a  state  to  be  of  marketable 
value  on  its  arrival  in  England,  that  there  is  not  tlie  slightest  chance  for  many  years  to 
come,  of  any  cotton  being  exported  from  those  countries,  except  to  a  honu-opathic  and 
infinitesimal  extent.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  shipment,  and  the  dearness  of  labor, 
are  all  <;reat  obstacles  to  the  cultivation  of  cntton  in.  and  its  exportation  from  the  West 
Coast  of  Africa. 

Mr.  Ridgway,  who  volunteered  in  behalf  of  Natal,  said : 

As  there  was  nobody  present,  to  represent  Natal,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  East 
Coast  of  Africa,  lie  would  venture  to  say  that  the  productions  of  Nalal,  as  shown  in  the 
present  Exhibition,  were  astonishing.  There  was  a  variety  of  most  valuable  products — 
useful  in  ever}'  kind  of  way;  and  among  them  there  was  nothing  perhaps  so  important  as 
the  article  of  cotton.  The  people  of  Natal  were  exerting  themselves  in  every  direction  to 
produce  cotton  abundantly  and  of  good  quality,  and  in  a  manner  creditable  to  go  into  the 
Manchester  market.     The  difficiilty  they  have  in  Natal  is  to  get  emigrants  from  Europe. 

There  were  a  small  number  of  Hottentots,  and  all  sorts  of  nations  of  Africa,  in  that  part 
of  the  coast,  wlio  were  willing  to  work;  but  there  was  a  very  fierce  and  troublesome  set  of 
people,  in  the  shape  of  Caffrcs,  and  other  tribes.  Fortunately  there  were  missionaries  now 
among  them,  who  were  quieting  them  and  bringing  them  to  think  how  they  might  live 
honestly  and  peaceably  by  their  industry. 

This  question  of  labor  is  a  most  important  one,  as  far  as  cotton 
cultivation  is  concerned.  It  will  be  observed  how  freely  the  gentle- 
men of  the  International  Exhibition  spoke  about  it.  The  abolition- 
ism of  England  was  no  doubt  sincere  as  long  as  it  lasted — over  a 
quarter  of  a  century — but  it  is  now  vanishing.  The  statesmen  of 
the  present  day  see  the  blunder  that  was  committed  by  the  passage 
of  the  Emancipation  measures.  Those  measures  originated  out 
of  a  purely  phihmthropic  feeling,  which  amounted  to  a  furore.  While 
it  was  vainly  imagined  that  the  negro  was  being  benefited,  it  was 
also  thought  that  free  labor  would  be  cheaper  than  slave  labor,  and 
that  in  the  end  the  ^20,000,000  sterling  paid  for  the  purchase  of  the 
slaves,  would  be  returned  to  the  British  conimunity  in  the  .^shape  of 
cheaper  produce.  The  Emancipation  act  was  therefore  passed  under 
the  influence  of  a  double  set  of  views.  It  was  not  adopted,  as  is 
supposed  by  many  persons,  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  the  East 
Indies  to  the  detriment  of  the  West  Indies.  Nor  was  it  adopted 
with  a  view  of  breaking  down  American  institutions.  Neither  was 
the  fanaticism  that  followed  in  any  degree  induced  with  that  wish. 
Happily,  a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  minds  of  the  British 
people  in  respect  to  slavery.  That  change  had  commenced  to  take 
place  before  the  disruption  of  the  American  States ;  and  the  chief 
fear  that  Englishmen  had  prior  to  that  event,  was,  that  there  would 
be  an  insurrection  among  the  slaves  at  sonie  time,  and  that  in  such 
case  they  would  be  deprived  of  their  customary  supplies  of  cotton 
from  the  Southern  States.  Like  the  protectionists  and  abolitionists  of 
the  Northern  States,  the  cotton  lords  with  those  in  their  interest  joined 
hands,  and  made  an  effort  to  seek  new  sources  of  supply,  so  as  to  be 
prepared  for  such  a  contingency  as  the  stoppage  of  receipts  from  the 
Southern  States.  At  the  time  abolitionism  was  started  in  England, 
the  cotton  manufacturing  industry  of  the  Kingdom  had  not  assumed 
such  important  dimensions  as  when  the  war  in  America  occurred.  It 
is  therefore  absurd  to  suppose  that  abolitionism  was  established  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  direct  blow  at  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in 
the  Southern  States.     Horrible  as  this  war  has  been,  it  will  not  prove 


69 

an  unmixed  evil,  for  it  will  demonstrate  to  the  other  powers  of  the 
world  their  dependence  upon  the  fibre  of  these  States.  It  has  been 
the  enormous  stocks  of  raw  cotton  and  cotton  goods  made  from  the 
products  of  the  Southern  States,  with  the  quantity  of  cotton  that 
has  eluded  the  blockade,  and  been  "  swapped"  to,  and  stolen  by  the 
Yankees,  that  has  caused  the  neutral  powers  to  be  passive  viewers 
of  the  American  contest.  For  the  same  reasons  there  has  not  been  any 
"cotton  famine"  yet.  The  "operatives"  were  overemployed  before 
the  war,  and  since  the  conflict  they  have  been  underemployed. 

The  writer  stated  in  another  part  of  this  paper  that  the  Manches- 
ter manufacturers  had  been  deceiving  their  neighbors,  by  making 
"a  poor  mouth;"  that  by  such  means  they  had  received  from  other 
classes  of  the  community  aid  in  the  support  of  their  idle  operatives. 
He  also  stated  that  the  parties  interested  in  the  cotton  trade  at  one 
time  did  not  desire  the  war  brought  to  a  close,  and  that  when  the 
British  Government  entertained  the  idea  of  recognizing  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  South,  those  parties  objected  to  such  a  movement. 
The  writer  was  an  eye  witness  to  this  procedure,  and  took  upon  him- 
self to  say  in  the  English  newspapers,  that  the  South  could  not 
"deluge"  Manchester  with  cotton  after  the  loss  of  one  crop,  and  the 
partial  destruction  and  wastage  of  another.  At  that  time,  when  all 
Confederates  in  Europe  had  hoped,  indeed  fully  expected  British 
action  in  the  affairs  of  their  country,  the  conference  committee  from 
the  Cotton  Supply  Association  and  the  representatives  of  the  petty 
cotton  growing  countries,  held  the  meetiiicr  above  alluded  to.  Mr. 
Hugh  Mason  of  Lancashire,  a  very  influential  member  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, made  a  speech  on  that  occasion,  and  in  his  remarks  appear 
the  following  words: 

Having  said  so  much  about  India,  just  allow  me  at  the  same  time  to  say  one  or  two 
words  in  reply  to  the  representative  from  Ecuador,  who,  j>erhaps,  somewhat  deservedly  re 
proached  tlit-  Lanca.'?hirt'  men  for  not  having  come  forward  more  earnestly  with  their  capital 
in  aid  of  the  various  new  cotton  schemes  which  have  been  fnnn  time  to  tiniH"  launched  by 
various  individuals.  Now,  upon  that  point,  allow  me  to  say  that  something  is  to  be  said  foi 
Lancashire  men.  Lancashire  men,  like  other  men,  have  worked  hard  for  tbeir  money,  and, 
having  earned  that  money,  they  do  not  icish  to  lose  it  at  a  time  like  this,  when  they  see  their 
capital  daily  and  hourly  getting  smaller  and  smaller.  Now,  they  have  been  terrified  by  that 
bugbear,  that  there  are  four  millions  of  bales  of  American  cotton  at  this  moment  shut  up; 
that,  perhaps  any  mail  miglit  bring  the  uews  that  a  peace  had  l^en  patched  )ip  in  America; 
that  thr-  quarrel  had  been  compromised,  and  that  their  four  m'illion  bales  of  cotton  would  be 
let  loo.^e  upon  Lancashire  like  a  deluge.  Now,  I  need  only  ask  gentlemen  of  common 
sense,  meu  of  business,  what  would  be  the  po.sititin  of  things  if  such  an  event  were  to  hap- 
pen ?  Would  not  a  great  many  of  the  cotton  schemes  which  have  been  launched  be  at 
once  knocked  in  the  head  ?  I  cannot,  therefore,  blame  the  cotton  spinners  for  having  shown 
a  degree  of  caution  and  reserve  in  taking  up  with  new  enterprises  of  a  kind  so  foreign  to 
their  habits  and  pnrsuit>.  /  am  also  prepared  to  deprecate  very  earnestly  indend  the  language 
ichich  has  been  used  hy  men  in  high  official  position  in  this  country,  with  respect  to  the  pros- 
pect of  the  duration  of  this  war.  Earl  Russell  little  knows  the  mischief  he  did  in  Lanca- 
shire: the  loss  he  icas  the  means  of  injlirting  upon  the  Lancashire  cotton  spinners,  by  that 
statement  which  he  made  a  few  months  ago  in  Parliament,  irhen  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  irar  would  he  terminated  in  ninety  days.  I  am  prepared  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  I 
know  orders  weie  not  given  out  that  would  have  been  given  out,  and  orders  withdrawn 
that  had  been  given,  in  consequence  of  that  statement,  and  the  price  of  yarns  and  cloth 
were  rousidenibly  reduced  in  consequence.  A  statement  of  that  kind  caused  a  great  amount 
of  mischief  and  a  great  amount  of  consternation  in  Lancashire. 

The  reasons  that  caused  the  people  of  Lancashire  in  1862  to  pro- 
test against  the  British  Government  lending  its  assistance,  morally 
or  otherwise,  towards  bringing  about  peace  in  America,  have  long 


70 

since  vanished.  Those  very  people  v^ould  no  doubt  ere  this  have 
urged  the  Ministry  to  renew  their  intention  of  doing  justice  to  the 
South,  had  they  not  been  supplied  with  sufficient  cotton  from  the  Con- 
federacy to  make  a  good  "  mix"  with  the  inferior  sorts  received  from 
other  countries.  The  slavery  question  has  not  influenced  in  any  de- 
gree the  course  of  the  rulers  of  England.  They  know  perfectly  well 
that  cotton  cannot  be  cultivated  by  free  negro  labor ;  that  the  cotton 
plant  is  so  delicate  in  its  nature,  that  its  cultivation  cannot  be  left  to 
the  caprice  of  free  black  "operatives."  The  writer  goes  so  far  as 
to  say,  that  if  the  statesmen  of  England  became  satisfied  that  there 
was  an  insufficiency  of  slave  labor  in  the  South  to  work  the  cotton 
fields  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  they  would  not  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  planters  obtaining  "  help"  of  the  right  kind,  even  if  from 
Africa.  A  supply  of  good  cotton  will,  after  the  lapse  of  some 
months,  be  of  vital  importance  to  Great  Britain — of  much  more 
consequence  than  most  people  think. 

England  cannot  afford  to  do  without  American  cotton.  No  species 
of  industry  can  possibly  take  its  place.  So  long  as  all  the  parties  in- 
terested in  the  cotton  trade  were  making  money  by  the  stoppage  of 
the  Usual  supplies  of  cotton,  they  were  contented  to  partially  support 
their  idle  operatives.  Those  operatives,  be  it  remembered,  had  been 
fully  employed  at  high  wages  for  several  years  before  the  war,  and 
had  saved  large  sums  (for  them)  of  money,  which  they  had  invested 
in  the  savings  banks.  They  now,  however,  have  expended  all  their 
former  earnings,  sold  their  surplus  furniture,  and  their  demands,  upon 
the  public  will  therefore  be  larger  than  hitherto.  Unless  England 
obtains  a  full  supply  of  American  cotton,  there  will  be  a  revolution — 
a  civil  war — in  the  British  Isles.  It  was  the  vast  extension  of  the  cot- 
ton trade  that  enabled  England  to  throw  open  her  ports  for  grain  at  a 
fixed  duty  of  one  shilling  per  quarter  instead  of  the  old  slidmg  scale. 
She  has  yet  plenty  of  soil  uncultivated.  If  the  persons  directly  and 
indirectly  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  are  permanently 
thrown  out  of  their  accustomed  employment,  they  will  have  to  be- 
come tillers  of  that  soil.  In  which  event,  the  yield  of  wheat  will 
be  augmented,  and  importations  of  grain  will  have  to  be  checked  by 
a  renewal  of  the  sliding  scale,  or  her  agricultural  interests  will  be 
ruined.  Situated  commercially  as  England  is,  if  she  produced  from 
her  soil  as  much  as  she  did  previously  to  1845 — sometimes  nearly 
enough  cereals  for  her  own  consumption — she  could  not  permit  her- 
self to  be  subjected  to  the  risk  of  an  avalanche  of  breadstuffs  falling 
upon  her,  when  there  happened  to  be  a  large  overproduction  in  other 
countries.  The  very  danger  of  such  a  contingency  would  materially 
affect  the  value  of  her  landed  property,  and  upset  her  whole  political 
system.  But  so  long  as  England,  Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland  only 
grow  enough  grain  to  last  them  for  nine  months  in  the  year,  they 
can  readily  have  open  ports  to  receive  the  other  three  months'  sup- 
ply, or  about  40,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  to  say  nothing  of  Indian 
corn.  It  was  not  Mr.  Cobden  nor  Mr.  Bright  that  caused  the  repeal 
of  the   British  corn   laws.     It  was  the   great  development  of  the 


71 

British  cotton  trade,  which  took  place  just  about  the  time  of  the 

Irish  famine. 

With  the  exception  of  the  period  just  previous  to  the  fall  of  Fort 
Sumter,  the  stocks  of  raw  cottnn  in  England  were  greater  in  1845 
than  they  have  been  at  any  other  time,  and  prices  for  New  Orleans 
middling  fell  below  3id  per  pound.  The  duty  of  5-l6ths  of  a  penny 
per  pound,  or  2s  lid  per  cwt,  was  taken  off;  and  as  the  quandties 
of  cotton  goods  at  the  consuming  points  were  then  of  moderate  ex- 
tent, the  trade  took  a  sudden  start,  became  very  prosperous,  and 
many  persons  who  had  been  employed  in  agricultural  labor,  assumed 
the  character  of  operatives.  The  Irish  famine  occurred  the  following 
year  (1846),  and  the  corn  laws  were  temporarily  repealed.  In 
another  season  the  cotton  trade  had  so  expanded  that  it  became 
more  profitable  to  manufacture  that  staple  than  to  force  agriculture. 
The  sliding  scale  was  then  permanently  set  aside;  and  since  that 
time  the  British  community  has  expended  in  the  purchase  of  food 
in  other  countries,  about  ^20,000,000  per  annum.  The  writer, 
though  a  free  trader,  frankly  admits  that  the  sliding  scale  of  du- 
ties operated  to  the  advantage  of  England  as  long  as  they  were  in 
existence.  Wheat,  unlike  cotton,  is  a  perishable  article,  and  cannot 
be  retained  beyond  a  certain  length  of  time.  It  has  to  be  sold.  Eng- 
land, therefore,  with  her  ships  visiting  all  the  grain  growing  coun- 
tries, had  to  establish  measures  by  which  she  would  not  be  liable  to 
a  flood  of  grain.  Those  measures  were  rescinded  so  soon  as  there 
became,  by  reason  of  her  cotton  manufacturing  industry,  no  danger 
of  her  being  thus  flooded.  Since  the  vast  enlargement  of  the  cotton 
trade,  the  wealth  of  Great  Britain,  in  point  of  distribution,  is  rela- 
tively less  in  real  estate  than  before  that  period.  The  enormous 
amounts  represented  in  railways,  steam  ships  and  other  enterprises 
since  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws,  liave  greatly  changed  the  character 
of  British  home  investments.  The  prosperity  of  those  enterprises, 
too,  depends  upon  the  continuance  of  her  commerce  in  cotton.  So, 
look  at  it  as  we  may,  it  is  a  matter  of  impossibility  for  Great  Britain 
to  retain  her  present  pre-eminent  position  without  the  yield  of  South- 
ern soil. 


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Excess 
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1  073  600  000 

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444  500  000 

553  260  000 

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95  000  000 

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110  000  000 

120  000  000 

150  000  000 

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79 


[G.] 

The  Cotton  Spindles  of  Europe  and  America  in  1860. 


COUNTRIES. 

Spindles. 

Pounds. 

Great  Britain, 

34  0(X)  000 

1100  000  000 

American  States, 

6  000  000 

400  000  000 

France, 

6  OtIO  000 

26<}  000  000 

Russia, 

1  800  000 

80  000  000 

Austria, 

2  000  000 

TO  000  000 

Holland, 

«00  000 

45OOOOU0 

Switzerland, 

1  500  000 

40  000  000 

Spain, 

1  000  000 

40  000  000 

Belgium, 

800  000 

40  000  000 

Bavaria, 

700  ooe 

35  000  000 

Saxony, 

600  000 

30  000  000 

Prussia, 

500  000 

25  000  000 

Italy,  Sardinia,     - 

300  000 

12  000  000 

Mexico, 

140  000 

12  0(MJ0(X) 

Wurtemburg, 

200  000 

10  000  000 

Baden, 

1.30000 

7  500  000 

Norway,  Sweden, 

100  000 

6  00)1000 

Naples,  Sicily,  Malta, 

100  000 

5  000  000 

Hanover, 

70  000 

3  500  000 

Oldenburgh, 

00  000 

3  000  000 

Portugal, 

30  000 

1  500  000 

56  850  000 

For  other  purposes  than  manufs 

icture  in  the 

several   countries,   such   as   candle  wicks, 

stuffing  furniture,  etc.  etc. 

174  500  000 

2  400  000  000 

The  countries  that  manufacture  the  coarsest 
counts  of  yarn  use  the  greatest  number  of  pounds 
of  cotton  to  the  spindle. 

The  raw  cotton  was  contributed  by  the  fol- 
lowing countries : 

Smithern  States, 
India, 
Brazil, 
West  Indies, 
Other  places. 


2  078  .577  600 

204  141  168 

17  286'f^84 

1  050  784 

98  943  584 


2  400  000  000 


80 


[H.] 

THE  COTTON  TRADE  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  IN  I860, 


Efttimated  stock  of  cotton,  January  1,  1860, 
Cotton  imports  in  1860 — American, 
Cotton  imports  in  I860 — Brazilian, 
Cotton  imports  in  1860— West  Indian, 
Cotton  imports  in  1860 — East  Indian^ 
Cotton  imports  in  1860 — Egyptian, 


Cotton  exports  in  1860 — American, 
Cotton  exports  in  1860 — Brazilian, 
Cotton  exports  in  1860 — East  Indian, 
Cotton  exports  in  1860 — other  kinds, 


Estimated  stock  on  January  1,  1861, 

Number  of  cotton  bales  consumed, 
Average  pounds  weigbt  per  bale — all  kinds, 

Pounds  weight  of  cotton  consumed, 


BALES. 


BALES. 


469520 

2  438  236 

99  067 

1758 

550  663 

113  963 

3  203687 

3  673  207 

190  912 

50 

289  238 

803 

481  flO'i 

3192  204 

■ 

594  510 

2  597  694 

; 

424 

1101422  256 

The  following  particulars  illustrate  the  importance  of  the  cotton  trade  of  Great  Britain, 
In  1850  there  were  21,000,000  spinning  spindles  and  250,000  power  looms  at  work.  On 
May  Ist,  1856,  there  were  28,010,000  spindles  and  298,847  power  looms,  or  an  increase  of 
7,000,000  spindles  and  48,000  power  looms  in  six  years ;  the  consumption  of  cotton  having 
increased  from  584,000,000  pounds  to  910,000,000  pounds.  Between  1856  and  1860  the 
cotton  trade  of  Great  Britain  was  increased  from  28,000,000  to  34,000,000  spindles. 


Amount  paid  for  cotton  by  the  spinners  in  1860, 

Wages, 

Trade  expenses  and  sundries, 

Interest  on  capital, 

Ptofits  on  spinning, 

ftofits  on  manufacturing, 


Value  of  goods  exported,       .                   .                   -  .  53,000,000 
inslue  of  goods  consumed  in  the  United  Kingdom  at  manufac- 
turers' prices,                      -                   -                   -  -  25,000,000 
Talue  of  goods  on  hand  of  the  manufacture  of  1860,  -  2,000,000 


23,000,000 
15,000,000 
15,000,000 

8,000,000 
14,000,000 

5,000,090 

£80,000,000 


£80,000,000 


There  were  also  large  quantities  of  cotton  goods  on  hand,  of  the  make  of  the  several  pre- 
years. 


81 


[I] 

[From  the  New  York  Shipping  List,  of  October  9,  1861.] 

THE  COTTON  CROP  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 

Growth  of  1860,  sent  to  market  from  September  1,  1860,  to  August  31,  1861. 


LOUISIANA. 

Export  from  New  Orleans : 

To  foreign  ports, 

To  coastwise  ports, 
Burnt  at  New  Orleans, 
Stock,  September  1, 1861, 

Deduct : 
Received  from  Mobile, 

"  "     Montgomery,  &c. 

"  "     Florida, 

"  "     Texas 

Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

ALABAMA. 

Export  from  Mobile : 

To  foreign  poets. 

To  coastwise  ports, 
Manufactured  in  Mobile  (estimated). 
Stock,  September  1, 1861, 

Deduct : 
Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

TEXAS. 

Export  from  Galveston,  «fec.: 

To  foreign  ports, 

To  coastwise  ports, 
Stock,  September  1,  1861, 


Deduct: 
Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

FLORIDA. 

Exportf 'm  Apalacbicola,  St.  Marks,  Ar,c. 

To  foreign  ports, 

To  coastwise  ports, 
Burnt  at  St.  Marks, 
Stock,  September  1, 1861, 

28  073 

85  9.53 

150 

7860 

Deduct : 
Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

GEORGIA. 

Export  from  Savannah : 

To  foreign  ports — Uplands, 
To  "  Sea  Islands,    - 

To  coastwise  ports — Uplands, 
To  "  Sea  Islandi, 

Stock  in  Savannah,  Sept.  1,  1861, 
•Stock  in  Augusta,  &c.  Aug.  1,  1861, 

Deduct ; 
Received  from  Florida — Sea  Islands,  - 
Uplands,       - 
Stock  in  Savannah,  Sept.  1,  1860, 
Stock  in  AugusU,  4&c.  Sept.  1, 1860,  • 


11 


BALES. 


1  783  673 

132  179 

3  276 

10118 


48  270 
11551 
13  279 
30  613 
73  934 


1  929  246 


177  647 


456  421 

127  574 

2  000 

2  481 


63  209 

84  254 

452 


293746 

8  441 

170  572 

11512 

4102 

5  991 

1033 

6188 

4  307 

5  252 

588  476 
41682 


147  915 
3168 


122  036 

864 


494  364 


16780 


TOTAL. 


1  751  599 


546794 


144  747 


121 172 


1859. 


2139  425 


843012 


252  424 


192  724 


477  584      525219      475788 


1858. 


1669274 


704  406 


192  062 


173  484 


82 


Tl  A  T  WO 

TOTAL. 

dAxj 

1860. 

1859. 

1858. 

SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

Exp't  f  m  Charleston  and  Georgetown : 

To  foreign  ports — Uplands, 

199345 

To            "           Sea  Islands,     - 

15  043 

To  coastwise  ports — Uplands, 

121663 

To                "           Sea  Islands, 

8  355 

Burnt  at  Charleston, 

564 

Stock  in  Charleston,  Sept.  1, 1861,     - 

2  899 

347  869 

Deduct: 

Received  from  Florida  and  Savannah — 

Uplands, 

2  378 

Sea  Islands, 

255 

Stock  in  Charleston,  Sept.  1, 1860,     - 

8  897 

11530 

336  339 

510  109 

480653 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Export: 

To  foreign  ports. 

195 

To  coastwise  ports, 

56100 

_ 

56295 

41 194 

37  482 

VIRGINIA. 

Export: 

To  foreign  ports. 

810 

To  coastwise  ports, 

61129 

Manufactured  (taken  from  the  ports), 

16  993 

Stock,  September  1, 1861, 

2  000 

80  932 

Deduct: 

Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

2  800 

78132 

56987 

33011 

TENNESSEE,  ETC. 

Shipment  from  Memphis,  Tenn. 

369857 

*'     Nashville,      " 

16  471 

"     Columbus  and    Hick- 

man,  Ky. 

5500 

Block  at  Memphis,  Sept.  1, 1861, 

1671 

393  499 

Deduct: 

Shipments  to  New  Orleans, 

196  366 

Manufactured  on  the  Ohio,  &c. 

52  000 

Stock,  September  1, 1860, 

1709 

250075 

143  424 

108676 

85  321 

_ 

Total  crop  of  the  Southern  States, 

3  656  086 

4  669770 

3  851 481 

Decrease  from  crop  of  I860, 
Decrease  from  crop  of  1859, 
Increase  over  crop  of  1858, 
Increase  over  crop  of  1857, 


1  013  684  bales, 
195  395      " 
542 124      ** 
716567      " 


Note. — See  page  29  for  the  exact  particulars  of  the  cotton  crop  of  1859 — the  lai^est  ever 
frown — per  census  of  1860. 

The  average  weight  of  American  cotton  bales  was,  in  1790,  200  pounds ;  in  1824,  300 
pounds;  in  1827,  336  pounds;  in  1836,  370  pounds;  in  1847,  400  pounds;  in  1850,410 
pounds ;  in  1855,  420  pounds,  and  in  1860, 440  pounds.  Mobile  bales  average  505  pounds  ( 
Kew  Orleans,  460  pounds ;  Uplands,  400  pounds ;  Sea  Islands,  250  to  325  pounds. 


83 


Comparative  Crop  Statement. 


YEARS. 

Bales. 

YEARS. 

Bale*. 

1824-5, 

569  249 

1843-4, 

2  030  409 

1825-6, 

720  027 

1844-5, 

2  394  503 

1826-7, 

957  281 

1845-6, 

2100  537 

1827-8, 

727  593 

1846-7, 

1778  651 

1828-9, 

870  415 

1847-8, 

2  347  634 

1829-30, 

976  845 

1848-9, 

2  728  596 

1830-], 

1  038  848 

1849-50, 

2  096  706 

1831-2, 

987  477 

1850-1, 

2  355  257 

1832-3, 

1  070  438 

1851-2, 

3  015  029 

1833-4, 

1  205  394 

1852-3, 

3  262  882 

1834-5, 

1  254  328 

1853-4, 

2930  027 

1835-6, 

1  360  725 

1854-5. 

2  847  339 

1836-7, 

1  422  930 

1855-6, 

3  527  845 

1837-8, 

1  801  497 

1856-7, 

2  939  519 

1838-9, 

1  360  532 

1857-8, 

3  1 13  %-2 

1839-40, 

2  177  835 

ia58-9, 

3  851481 

1840-1, 

1  634  945 

1859-60, 

4  669  77« 

1841-2, 

1  683  574 

1860-1, 

3656  086 

1842-3, 

2  378  875 

Crop  of  Sea  Island  Cotton. 

The  crop  of  this  staple  for  the  past  year*  (included  in  the  general  statement)  was  as  fol- 
lows :     Florida, bales  ;    Georgia, bales  ;    and  South  Carolina, bales ;    total, 

bales;  against  46,649  bales  in  1859-60;  47,592  in  1858-9;  40,566  in  ia57-8;  45,314 

ia  1856-7;  44,512  in  1855-6;  40,841  in  1854-5;  and  39,686  in  I8d3-A. 

*Thi8  we  are  unable  to  give  this  year. — (See  General  Statement.) 


Export  to  Foreign  Ports  from  September  1,  1860,  to  August  31,  1861. 


FROM 

1 
1 

1 

S 

a 

o 

u 

3 

1 

s 

i 

^ 

o 

^ 

C 

o 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 

1 159  348 

388  925 

122  042 

113  358 

I  783  673 

Mobile,  Alabama, 

340  845 

96  429 

6  601 

12  546 

456  421 

Galveston,  Texas, 

47  229 

3  640 

12  315 

25 

63  209 

Florida, 

27  140 

_ 

933 

- 

28  07.t 

Savannah,  Georgia,     - 

282  994 

10  061 

6165 

2  967 

802  187 

Charleston,  South  Carolina, 

136  513 

29  886 

24  401 

23  588 

214  388 

Virginia, 

810 

- 

- 

- 

810 

North  Carolina, 

144 

_ 

_ 

51 

19^ 

New  York, 

158415 

49122 

35197 

5  315 

248  049 

Baltimore, 

975 

_ 

2  483 

87 

354& 

Philadelphia, 

3  793 

_ 

_ 

- 

3  793 

Boston, 

17  019 

- 

6  113 

93 

23  22& 

Grand  total. 

2  175  225 

578  063 

216  250 

158  030 

3127  56« 

Total  last  year,      - 

2  669  4:i2 

589  587 

295  072 

220  082 

3  774  172 

Decrease, 

494  207 

11524 

78  822 

62  052 

646  60S 

84 


Consumption, 

Total  crop  of  the  Southern  States,  as  before  stated, 
Add,  stocks  on  hand  at  the  commencement  of  year,  Sept.  1, 1866; 
In  the  Southern  ports. 


In  the  Northern  ports, 


Deduct  therefrom : 

The  export  to  foreig-u  ports, 
Less,  foreign  included, 


142  613 

85  095 


Makes  a  supply  of 


Stocks  on  hand  Sept.  1, 1861— In  Southern  ports, 
"  *'         "         "         In  Northern  ports, 

Burnt  at  New  Orleans,  St.  Marks,  Charleston  and 

Philadelphia, 
Manufactured  in  Virginia  and  Mobile, 


3  127  568 

701 

37  574 
45  613 


4  390 
18  993 


3  126  867 
83187 

23  383 


Taken  for  home  use  North  of  Virginia, 

Taken  for  home  use  in  Virginia  and  South  and  West  of  Virginia, 

Total  consumed  in  the  United  States  (included  burnt  at  the  ports),  1860-61, 


Balei. 
3  656  088 


227  708 

3  883794 


3  233  437 

650  357 
193  383 


843  740 


YEARS. 

'3) 
> 

i 

.a 

1 

125 

^ 

g 

H 

O 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

1847-8, 

523  892 

92152 

616  044 

1848-9, 

504  143 

138  342 

642  485 

1849-50, 

476  486 

137  012 

613  498 

1850-1, 

386  429 

99  185 

485  614 

1851-2, 

588  332 

111281 

699  603 

1852-3, 

650  393 

153  332 

803  725 

1853-4, 

592  284 

144  952 

737  236 

1854-5, 

571  117 

135  295 

706  412 

1855-6, 

633  027 

137  712 

770  739 

1856-7, 

665  718 

154  218 

819  9.36 

1857-8. 

452  185 

143  377 

595  562 

1858-9, 

760  218 

167  433 

927  651 

1859-60, 

786  521 

185  522 

972  043 

1860-1, 

650  357 

193  383 

843  740 

We  give  below  our  usual  estimate  of  the  amount  of  cotton  consumed  the  past  year  in  th© 
States  South  and  West  of  Virginia,  and  not  included  in  the  receipts  at  the  ports.    Thus : 


1854. 

1855. 

1856. 

1857. 

1858. 

1859. 

I860. 

1861. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

North  Carolina, 

20  000 

18.500 

22  000 

25  000 

26  000 

29  000 

30  000 

33  000 

South  Carolina, 

12  000 

10  500 

15  000 

17  000 

18  000 

20  000 

21000 

24  000 

Georgia, 

23  000 

20  500 

25  000 

23  000 

24  000 

26  000 

28  000 

32  000 

Alabama, 

6  000 

5  500 

6  500 

5  000 

8  000 

10  000 

11000 

12  000 

Tennessee, 

6  000 

4  000 

7  000 

9  000 

10  000 

13  000 

15  000 

17  000 

On  the  Ohio,  &c. 

38  000 

26  000 

42  000 

38  000 

39  000 

45  000 

49  000 

52  000 

Total  to  Sept.  1, 

105  000 

85  000 

117  500 

117  000 

125  000 

143  000 

154  000 

170  000 

85 

To  which,  if  we  add  (for  the  past  year)  the  stocks  in  the  interior  towns  Ist  September 
(saj  6,200  bales),  the  quantity  detained  in  the  interior  (say  25,000  bales),  and  that  lost  on 
its  way  to  market  (9,000  bales)  to  the  crop  as  given  above,  received  at  the  shipping  porta, 
the  aggregate  will  show,  as  near  as  may  be,  the  amount  raised  in  the  Southern  States  the 
past  season — say,  in  round  numbers,  3,866,000  bales  (after  deducting  300  bales  new  crop 
received  this  year  to  1st  ult.).  against 


YEARS. 

Bales. 

YEARS. 

Bales. 

1849, 
1850, 
1851, 
1852, 
185.3, 
1854, 

2  840  000 
2  212  000 

2  450  000 

3  100  000 
3  360  000 
3  000  000 

1855, 
1856, 
1857, 
1858, 
1859, 
1860, 

3186  000 
3  335  006 
3  014  000 

3  247  000 

4  017  000 
4  805  800 

The  quantity  of  new  cotton  received  at  the  shipping  ports  to  1st  September  was — i 


YEARS. 

Bales. 

YEARS. 

Bales. 

18:34, 

1835, 
1836, 
1837, 
1838, 
1839, 
1840, 
1841, 
1842, 
1843; 
1844, 
1845, 
1846, 
1847, 

small. 
3  424 
9  702 
no  account, 
no  account, 
no  account. 
30  000 
32  000 
3  000 
300 
7  500 
7  500 
200 
1  121 

1848, 
1849, 
1850. 
1851, 
1852, 
1853, 
1854, 
18.55, 
18.56, 
1857, 
1858, 
1859, 
1860, 
1861, 

3  000 

.575 

2.55 

3  200 

5125 

6  716 

1890 

26  079 

1800 

100 

8  031 

12  369 

51  600 

30U 

We  herewith  present,  about  three  weeks  later  than  usual,  our  annual  statement  of  the 
cotton  crop  of  the  Southern  States.  Owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country  and  the 
absence  of  our  usual  mail  facilities,  our  labor  has  been  prosecuted  with  more  diflSculty,  and 
less  satisfaction  to  ourselves,  than  ever  before,  but  we  take  pleeisure  in  stating  that  owing 
to  a  combination  of  favorable  circumstances  we  are,  with  a  few  unimportant  exceptions, 
enabled  to  present  a  statement  which,  we  believe,  in  all  its  leading  items,  to  approximate 
exactness,  and  one  which,  for  all  practical  purposes,  may  be  considered  reliable.  ►Some  of 
the  minor  details  usually  given  in  our  statement  are  of  necessity  omitted,  owing  to  the 
causes  alluded  to,  and  some  others  are  less  complete  than  we  could  wish,  but  we  feel  assured 
that  the  statement,  as  a  whole,  will  be  found  very  nearly  correct.  It  is  well  known  that, 
owing  to  the  disturbed  state  of  the  Southern  section  of  the  country,  the  commerce  in  cotton 
was  hurried  to  a  close  some  two  months  or  more  earlier  than  usual,  and  the  results  now 
given  were  more  or  less  correctly  known  a  month  or  two  ago.  It  will  be  well,  however,  to 
observe  here  that  our  former  (weekly)  tables  included  as  receipts  all  the  shipmeuts  from 
Memphis ;  but  to  arrive  at  the  commercial  crop  of  the  country,  we  have  as  usual  deducted 
the  amount  consumed  on  the  Ohio,  &.C.,  estimated  by  good  judges  at  52,000  bales,  and  on 
this  account  the  aggregate  crop  will  now  appear  less  than  was  previously  supposed  it  would 
be.  The  statement,  however,  must  speak  for  itself;  it  is  the  best  we  could  make,  consider- 
ing the  serious  embarrassments  under  which  we  have  labored. 

An  error  in  the  Stivaunah  statement  last  year  (an  excess  of  6,000  bales  in  the  coastwise 
ahipmeuts  of  Sea  Island)  is  now  corrected  in  the  comparisons  of  crop,  consumption,  &c., 
which  appear  that  much  less  than  in  our  last  year's  account. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  that  the  preceding  statement  of  the  crop  is  that  of  the  Southern 
States  as  a  whole,  and  does  not  purport  to  be  the  crops  of  the  States,  though  the  shipments, 
stocks,  &c.  are  necessarily  arranged  under  the  different  leading  shipping  ports  or  States,  as 
the  case  may  be. 


86 


[J.] 

The  Cotton  Trade  at  its  Height — Import,  Consumption  and   Stock  in   Europe. 


1860. 

S.  States. 

Brazil. 

W.  Ind. 

E.  Ind. 

Egypt. 

Total 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Stock  iBt  January, 

374  000 

33  000 

4  000 

144  000 

16  000 

571  000 

Import  to  31st  December: 
Great  Britain, 

2  582  000 

103  000 

10  000 

563  000 

110  000 

3  368  000 

France, 

610  000 

2  000 

26  000 

12  000 

35  000 

685  000 

■  Holland, 

70  000 

_ 

3  000 

63  000 

- 

136  000 

Belgium, 
Germany, 

35  000 

_ 

1000 

25  000 

- 

61000 

183  000 

- 

7  000 

111  000 

- 

301  000 

Trieste, 

36  000 

- 

- 

36  000 

12  000 

84  000 

Genoa, 

58  000 

_ 

- 

19  000 

1000 

78  000 

Spain, 

101  000 

4  000 

- 

- 

- 

105  000 

3  675  000 

109  000 

47  000 

829  000 

158  000 

4  818  000 

•Deduct  intermediate  shipments, 

124  000 

3  000 

- 

256  000 

- 

383  000 

3  551  000 

106  000 

47  000 

573  000 

158  000 

4  435  000 

Add  8to(i  from  above, 

374  000 

33  000 

4  000 

144  000 

16  000 

571  000 

Total  supply. 

Deduct  stock  31st  December, 

3  925  000 

139  000 

51000 

717  000 

174  000 

5  006  000 

541  000 

14  000 

5  000 

193  000 

29  000 

782  000 

Total  deliveries, 

3  384  000 

125  000 

46  000 

524  000 

145  000 

4  224  000 

Deliveries : 

In  Great  Britain, 

2  242  000 

113  000 

6  000 

176  000 

96  000 

2  633  000 

France, 

551  000 

3  000 

26  000 

8  000 

33  000 

621  000 

Holland, 

67  000 

_ 

4  000 

46  000 

- 

117  000 

Belgium, 
Germany, 

Trieste, 

34  000 

_ 

1000 

29  000 

- 

64  000 

177  000 

_ 

9  000 

121  000 

- 

307  000 

29  000 

_ 

- 

37  000 

11000 

77  000 

Genoa, 

54  000 

_ 

- 

17  000 

1000 

72  000 

Spain, 
tSurplus  of  export— Great  Brit. 

103  000 

3  000 

- 

- 

- 

106  000 

127  000 

6  000 

- 

90  000 

4  000 

227  000 

Total  deliveries, 

3  384  000 

125  000 

46  000 

524  000 

145  000 

4  224  000 

Total  deliveries  in  1859, 

2  880  000 

124  000 

32  000 

442  000 

173  000 

3  651  000 

Stock  31st  Dec.  1860-61-62: 

Great  Britain, 

395  000 

12  000 

4  000 

157  000 

27  000 

595  000 

France, 

97  000 

_ 

- 

6  000 

2  000 

105  000 

Holland, 

5  000 

_ 

_ 

17  000 

- 

22  000 

Belgium, 

2  000 

- 

- 

- 

- 

2  000 

Germany, 

11  000 

- 

1000 

8  000 

- 

20  000 

Trieste, 

8  000 

- 

- 

2  000 

- 

10  000 

Genoa, 

5  000 

_ 

- 

3  000 

- 

8  000 

Spain, 

18  000 

2  000 

- 

- 

- 

20  000 

541  000 

14  000 

5  000 

193  000 

29  000 

782  000 

Stock  31st  Dec.  1857-58-59, 

311000 

39  000 

11000 

239  000 

26  000 

626  000 

Of  the  exports,  those  marked  (*)  were  to  France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Trieste,  Genoa  and 
Spain,  and  are  comprised  in  the  imports  to  those  places;  and  those  marked  (t)  were  to  tha 
Baltic,  ^c. 


87 


The  Cotton  Trade,  Sfc. — Continued. 


1861. 

S.  States. 

BrazU. 

W.  Ind. 

E.  Ind. 

Egypt. 

TotaL 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Bales. 

Stock  in  January, 

541  000 

14  000 

5  000 

193  000 

29  000 

782  000 

Import  to  31st  December: 

Great  Britain, 

1  842  000 

99  000 

11000 

986  000 

97  000 

3  035  000 

France, 

521  000 

1000 

22  000 

19  000 

41000 

604  000 

Holland, 

98  000 

- 

_ 

75  000 

173  000 

Belgium, 

27  000 

-. 

_ 

21  000 

_ 

48  000 

Germany, 

153  000 

- 

4  000 

166  000 

_ 

323  000 

Trieste, 

9  000 

- 

_ 

44  000 

11000 

64  000 

Genoa, 

30  000 

_ 

_ 

15  000 

45  000 

Spain, 

82  000 

3  000 

- 

8  000 

15  000 

108  000 

2  762  000 

103  000 

37  000 

1  334  000 

164  000 

4  400  000 

•Deduct  intermediate  shipments. 

142  000 

1000 

335  000 

1000 

479  000 

2  620  000 

102  000 

37  000 

999  000 

163  000 

3  921000 

Add  stock  from  above, 

541  000 

14  000 

5  000 

193  000 

29  000 

782  000 

Total  supply, 

3  161  000 

116  000 

42  000 

1  192  000 

192  000 

4  703  000 

Deduct  stock  31st  December, 

429  000 

28  000 

2  000 

398  000 

15  000 

872  000 

Total  deliveries. 

2  732  000 

88  000 

40  000 

794  000 

177  000 

3  831  000 

Deliveries : 

In  Great  Britain, 

1  691  000 

82  000 

14  000 

355  000 

111  000 

2  253  000 

France, 

494  000 

1000 

22  000 

19  000 

42  000 

578  000 

Holland, 

96  000 

_ 

_ 

89  000 

185  000 

Belgium, 

28  000 

_ 

_ 

21000 

_ 

49  000 

Germany, 

160  000 

_ 

3  000 

168  000 

_ 

331000 

Trieste, 

16  000 

_ 

_ 

45  000 

10  000 

71000 

Genoa, 

34  000 

_ 

_ 

16  000 

50  000 

Spain, 

92  000 

4  000 

_ 

2  000 

13  000 

111000 

tSurplus  of  export— Great  Brit. 

121  000 

1000 

1000 

79  000 

1000 

203  000 

Total  deliveries, 

2  732  000 

88  000 

40  000 

794  000 

177  000 

3  831  000 

Total  deliveries  in  1860, 

3  384  000 

125  000 

46  000 

524  000 

145  000 

4  224  000 

Stock  31st  Dec.  1860-61-62: 

Great  Britain, 

283  000 

27  000 

1000 

378  000 

10  000 

699  000 

France, 

124  000 

6  000 

1000 

131000 

Holland, 

7  000 

_ 

_ 

3  000 

10  000 

Belgium, 

1000 

_ 

_ 

_ 

1000 

Germany, 

4  000 

_ 

1000 

6  000 

_ 

11000 

Trieste, 

1000 

_ 

_ 

1000 

2  000 

4  000 

Genoa, 

1000 

- 

- 

2  000 

3  000 

Spain, 

8  000 

1000 

- 

2  000 

2  000 

13  000 

429  000 

28  000 

2  000 

398  000 

15  000 

872  000 

Block  31  St  Dec.  ia57-58-59. 

412  000 

27  000 

6  000 

72  000 

40  000      557  000 

Of  the  exports,  those  marked  (*)  were  to  France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Trieste,  Genoa  and 
Spain,  and  are  comprised  in  the  imports  to  those  places:  and  those  marked  (t)  were  to  the 
Baltic,  &c. 


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